Cry to Me
by motherweshare
Summary: Feat. Sidney Crosby
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Dulci, can I get you interpretation of this cytology?"

Dulci looked up at her boss and fellow colleague and back towards the daunting pile of medical records on her desk that still needed to be reviewed or completed. _Sure. I guess I can stop what I'm doing to participate in your elementary tests regarding my education. I've only been out of school and practicing for two years. _She politely obliged followed the owner of the clinic, Dr. Harrison, into the lab and toward the microscope.

"Can I ask the source of the cytology?" She asked before bending down to peer into the lenses. After seeing the obvious mutation of the lymphocytes, she stood up taking the slide off of the microscope and handed it back toward her boss.

"It looks like lymphoma, but the best option would be to send it to a lab for interpretation by a pathologist for confirmation and staging." She noticed the remained staring at her, one hand on his hip while the other gestured her to continue. "Depending on the stage of the lymphoma, the patient could potentially be referred to an oncologist for chemotherapy. The success rates of chemo and remission with lymphoma are quite good," she concluded, hoping that would suffice so she could go back to the undocumented charts from her morning patients.

"Well done, Dr. Hammett," Harrison praised with a smile on his face as he reclaimed his slide to discuss the options with the owner. Turning on her feet, Dulci rolled her eyes and walked back towards the doctor's office where she could hopefully get some of her charts done before surgery started.

Pulling her hair a bun, she sighed audibly and started documenting her first patient of the day. She was quickly pulled out of her concentration when she noticed her cellphone buzzing with new notifications.

**Hey! I'm back in town! We MUST go for drinks ASAP! Are you free tonight?**

Before she could start typing a response, one of her technicians peeked into the office. "Dr. Hammett, you're first surgery is prepped and ready." Dulci's response would have to wait.

Dulci was pulling off her surgical mask and gown as one of the receptionists, Savannah, scurried into the treatment area with an irritated look on her face. Dulci instantly liked Savannah from her first day at the clinic. She had an incredibly kind personality but was not above giving someone a reality check. "Dr. Hammett, your 'sister' is on line one. She said to interrupt you," putting sister in air quotes.

"I don't have a sister," Dulci said more to herself then to Savannah as she contemplated who could be claiming a relation.

"She introduced herself as 'Carly, Dulci's sister.' She's kinda bitchy," Savannah snorted as she walked back toward the reception area.

Dulci couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she walked back toward her desk to take her "important" phone call. Carly was her best friend. They'd met at Virginia Tech almost a decade ago because Carly needed tutoring in a multitude of science and math courses. Carly was also the opposite of Savannah in that she was overbearing, egotistical, cold and turned off toward most people, irritable; someone Dulci usually wouldn't want as a best friend. But, throughout their undergrad years and tutoring sessions, they went from being acquaintances to best friends.

Eventually Dulci was included in Carly's inner circle and the two were inseparable. While Dulci stayed in Virginia for another four years, Carly moved around a bit looking to fall into place. That place ended up being Pittsburgh, and on the pretense that Dulci and Carly would be roommates when Dulci graduated, she made the move as well.

"Good afternoon. This is Dr. Hammett. How can I help you?" Dulci asked feigning ignorance.

"Oh my God, you sound so freaking professional! Why didn't you answer my text?"

"Hi Carly. I was in surgery. How was your trip?" Dulci laughed as she heard Carly's uncontained squeals and giggles. The two had talked and texted for the past year, but with Dulci's hectic work schedule and Carly spending every waking moment with her boyfriend, they could rarely find time to go out.

"It was fantastic! Canada is gorgeous! Lets go out tonight! Are you free?"

"I think I can manage that. My last appointment is at 6:30 so hopefully I'll be done by seven."

"Perfect! Dulc, I cannot wait to see you! I have so much to tell you. You also need to meet my boyfriend. He's been dying to meet you."

"I highly doubt he's dying to meet me. More like you want me to meet him," Dulci scoffed as she rolled her eyes. She had known for months about this mysterious boyfriend of Carly's but never knew his name or much about him until recently. She was sworn to secrecy, as their relationship was not made public and the only solid pieces of information Dulci was told was his name and his celebrity status around the city.

"He does want to meet you because he knows you're important to me. I've told his hot friends about you and they're definitely excited to meet you," Carly answered suggestively making Dulci chuckle.

"Christ," Dulci mumbled shaking her head. She knew Carly was talking out of her ass and the thought of being set up with an arrogant, overpaid and undereducated athlete was off-putting. "Listen. I've gotta go check on my surgery patient. I'll call or text you when I get off. See you soon!"

"Can't wait! Bye!"

It was 6:45 and Dulci was just about finished with her medical records for the day. As she walked toward the front desk to drop off her charts, she noticed the two receptionists watching a YouTube video on one of their computers. One of them, Amy, was fanning herself off while they other, Laura, was very flushed.

"What are you guys watching?" Dulci asked as she kneeled down next to them.

"Oh we'll replay it for you, Dr. Hammett," Amy beamed as she pushed the repeat icon.

"Something tells me you guys have watched this quite a few times given your red faces."

The video started in slow motion with a guy doing various exercises in a dimly lit gym with a few voiceovers talking about him. "Will the greatest player in the world live up to that title?" "His passion and dedication never come into question." "This season is going to be his season." Half way through the video, grunting, groaning, and heaving breathing replaced the voiceovers and the exercises pick up in tempo and ended with the guy throwing a bench press bar with weights above his head while turning to walk away.

"God. I bet his sounds like that in bed," Amy said fanning herself off again.

"Who is that in the video," Dulci inquired.

"Are you serious right now?" Amy asked with a horrified look on her face. Dulci nodded. Was she supposed to know who the man was?

"That's Sidney Crosby. Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins," Laura explained.

"Smoking hot captain of the Penguins, might I add," Amy chipped in.

Wait. That was Carly's boyfriend? Even though she knew he had a high profile, she never thought to look him up once she was given his name. It didn't surprise her, however, given that Carly was tall, blonde, slim, had fake boobs and tan; everything you would think wealthy athletes would want.

"Well, I can definitely see why you guys are blushing. He is very attractive. He probably has a small wiener, though or doesn't know how to use it," Dulci shrugged. Most guys always had to compensate. Putting that aside, Dulci knew she couldn't tell the girls that he was off the market because of her best friend, and wouldn't because a little fantasizing never hurt anyone.

"I'm going to leave, do you guys need anything before I go?" Dulci asked slowly making her way towards the doctor's offices.

"Yeah, Crosby's phone number and a dry pair of underwear," one of them quipped. Dulci shook her head and headed toward her desk. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Dulci noticed she had another text message.

**I'll be at your place at 8:30.**

Her breath caught in her throat as a blush crept up her neck and face. It was Henry, the guy she'd been having uninhibited and exquisite sex with for over six months and it had been the best sex of her life. Playfully she responded.

**What makes you think you're welcome?**

Without a beat, she got a response that made her gasp and clench her legs together.

**Because you know I'm going to make you come again and again and again until your neighbor's known my name.**

Exiting out Henry's text, Dulci quickly sent Carly a message to bail out of meeting her and her boyfriend for drinks.

**Don't hate me! I have a risky procedure tomorrow and need to read up. Rain check? I'll call you tonight.**

Dulci threw her phone into her bag and quickly made the drive home.

Dulci looked at the clock on her stove. 8:27. Henry was always very punctual and their routine was always the same. She sauntered over to the kitchen island where she had been sipping on red wine to calm her anticipation. Shortly after arriving home, she jumped into the shower to spot shave her legs and armpits. She was thankful she had recently been to get waxed in her nether region. She curled her hair and applied sultry make up. She was tapping her nails on the island counter waiting impatiently for Henry to arrive. 8:29. She saw headlights pull into her driveway. _This is it_, she thought. She pulled her satin robe off and draped it over the island stool so she stood in her kitchen completely naked and waiting. She debated whether to have him find her standing cross-legged with her butt pushed out a little as she leaned into the island or if she should be sitting in some sexy pose on the stool. She chose the former as she heard a quiet knock on her door.

"It's open," she called out.

She quickly turned her back toward the entry into the kitchen as she heard someone shuffle toward her. In her best attempt to come off as irresistibly sexy, she brought her wine glass to her mouth and slowly rubbed the rim on her lower lip. She remembered what Carly always told her; "Guys go wild when you distract them by putting things in or near your mouth. They instantly think blowjobs." She would usually never act this way in front of a guy, but there was something about the way that Henry looked at her that made her feel incredibly sexy and alive, but he still intimidated the hell out of her and she was always nervous during their trysts.

Something was off. Usually Henry would say something or start touching her right away. Dulci closed her eyes to give herself courage and slowly turned around so she could display herself to him. When she opened her eyes, everything started happening in slow motion. She saw a man standing about eight feet away from her. He wasn't as tall as Henry, but about five foot eleven and he was muscles for days. He was wearing expensive looking sneakers, dark jeans, and a grey long sleeved tee shirt. He also had a leashed dog with him. His face was red with a very evident surprised expression.

Then everything hit her at once when her brain finally digested the situation. She was standing completely nude in her kitchen with a stranger who she'd actually seen earlier that day, with two receptionists, in a video on YouTube.

She screamed and dropped her wine glass while running toward her couch to grab the throw blanket to provide some coverage over her nudity. However, she tripped over her cat and fell face first into the coffee table with a resonating thud. Her face was already hot with embarrassment, but the stream of blood coming from her nose was even warmer. She quickly wrapped the blanket around herself while holding her hand under her nose to catch the blood. When she turned to head toward the bathroom, she ran into him as he was rushing over with the dishrag that was hanging from stove.

"Put some pressure on it," he instructed as he brought the towel gently to her nose and gingerly replaced his hand with hers.

"Lean forward and sit back onto the couch," he instructed as he jogged over to the freezer and grabbed a bag of frozen peas.

"Where do you keep your tampons?"

Dulci furrowed her brows. Why the fuck would he need a tampon? "In my bedroom under the bathroom sink," she murmured as the adrenaline worse off and the pain set in.

He walked back toward her with a tampon, bag of peas, and a new washcloth he took off of the rack in her bathroom. Dulci watched as he tore the tampon in two and handed a piece it her.

"Stick this in one of your nostrils. It's a trick in sports medicine."

Dulci did as she was instructed, careful to leave one hand clutching the blanket to her body. It was no use, however, because she knew he saw ALL of her.

He wrapped the bag of peas in the washcloth and handed it to her.

"Put this on the bridge of your nose for fifteen minutes. It'll help with the swelling."

While the pain was getting worse, the cold peas were really helping. Closing her eyes, he could only imagine what she must've looked like. Red mouth and chin stained with blood, splotchy cheeks from crying and the eye make up mess that comes with crying. After ten minutes, She was brought out of her thoughts are he cleared his throat.

"I'm gonna go. I'll come back another time. Maybe call before I come," he joked causes Dulci to quietly laugh at the awkwardness of their situation. With that, he called for his dog that'd been obediently sitting in the kitchen entry throughout the debacle.

Dulci waited a few minutes before getting up. She was hesitant to move through the kitchen, but noticed all of the glass and wine had been wiped off of the floor. _When did he have time to do that? Oh, probably while you were inserting tampons into your nose._ She rolled her eyes at the thought. Once arriving in the bedroom, she picked up her phone off of the nightstand and noticed two messages; one from Henry and other from Carly. She read Henry's first.

**Who's Range Rover is in your driveway?**

She'd have to explain the situation to Henry later. Carly's text was more important, however, as it explained the shit storm that took place in her kitchen twenty minutes prior.

**Hey Dulc! Sid's dog is limping on one of her legs. I'm sending him over alone because I'm busy. I'm confident that you two will be fast friends! Hope you don't mind! Thanks a million! :D**

She fell backwards onto her bed and let out a much-needed breath. It wasn't exactly how she pictured meeting her best friend's high profile boyfriend.


	2. Chapter 2

Pulling into his driveway, Sidney finally exhaled. What the fuck did he walk in on? Was she waiting for him? Carly did text her about his visit. No. That was Carly's best friend. Surely she wasn't naked and waiting for him and betray Carly, right? And if that was Dulci's deal, that was unequivocally the most brazen attempt a woman has ever had at getting him into bed.

But she seemed almost as surprised as he did when they locked eyes. And then her reaction after seeing him said it all. He wasn't supposed to be there and she didn't know he was coming. He was definitely interrupting something. He didn't see anyone else in her home, but then again he wasn't exactly looking. _Maybe that's why the door was unlocked_, he thought to himself. Dulci was going to surprise her boyfriend. And he ruined it.

He rubbed his face with his hands and walked into his lavish home. That was definitely too much excitement for one night. He could hear the faint sound of music thumping in his basement. Carly must be working out. He took the stairs two at a time to his bedroom and once he got inside, he collapsed onto his bed. The last hour had definitely been exhausting.

He rolled onto his back and scooted himself so he was lying against his pillows on the headboard with one hand behind his head and his ankles crossed. Grabbing the remote, he turned on his flat screen and tried to distract himself with ESPN. Commercials became his enemy. Whenever they began, he could only think of Dulci and what he saw in her bedroom. To start, she was wearing leather cuffs on her wrists and ankles, and that was it. He didn't really think much of it due to the initial shock of the situation. But once he got into her bedroom to get into her en suite, it made sense. She had things lying on her bed that he'd never seen before, well, not in person anyway. The first piece of equipment was a metal circle with four leather straps connected to clips. It was displayed to look like a cross. The second piece was a long black bar, around two to two and a half feet long that had four cuffs equally spread out along the bar. The third piece was leather strap with two wide holes on opposite ends and the fourth looked like black duct tape. He had an inkling what they were used for, but his curiosity got the best of him as he picked up his iPad from his nightstand.

Opening the safari icon, he typed: bondage equipment. Not really sure what he was looking for, he clicked on the first website: . He instantly felt out of place. Sure, he'd had his share of uninhibited sex and bound wrists with his ties, but had never considered the actuality as a life style. He scrolled through the gear and concluded that the four leather strapped item was a hog tie set up, the long bar was a spreader bar with wrist cuffs in the center and ankle cuffs on the outside. The model on the site was bent over at the waste wearing a thong. It's obviously used for sex from behind. _Thank god Dulci wasn't already trussed up in the spreader bar_, he thought to himself. What would've happened if he walked in to see her face down ass up? The black tape was self-adhesive bondage tape. The last was a thigh sling, which, from what he could tell based on the model, spread a girl's legs out and up around her shoulders.

Sidney was taken out of his thoughts when he heard Carly running up the stairs toward the bedroom. He quickly exited the website and placed the iPad back into his nightstand as Carly entered the room.

"Hey babe. What did Dulci say about Sam?" She leaned in to give him a quick kiss before heading toward the bathroom.

"Umm. She actually didn't look at her," he said rubbing the back of his neck. He knew Carly was going to ask a bunch of questions about their meeting because she's wanted them to meet for so long.

Carly peeked her head out from behind the door giving Sidney a confused look.

"She.. Umm.. She wasn't feeling well when I got there. I told her we'd come back another time," he said hoping his explanation would appease her.

"She works too hard at that clinic. She's gonna run herself into the ground with exhaustion. I hope she's ok." And with that, she closed the bathroom door.

_Well someone's definitely running her into the ground_, Sidney chuckled to himself as he situated himself in bed for the evening.

"Oh my god! What happened to your face?!" Savannah asked as Dulci walked into the office. Obviously the makeup wasn't hiding the bruising around her nose and eyes.

"Ugh. Please don't remind me," Dulci huffed as she walked out of reception toward the doctor's office. Knowing Savannah was close behind, she asked, "What does the appointment schedule look like today? I had a pounding migraine all night." _And a really hot guy saw me, all if me, completely naked and the thought of him telling Carly was enough to keep me awake waiting for her wrath_.

"Wednesdays are always slow. Do you want me to schedule you extra down time to relax?"

"No. I'd rather stay busy and make it through the day without a minute to overthink. Are we still going for margaritas tonight?" Savannah and Dulci would go for margaritas once a week to do what girls loved to do; gossip.

"Absolutely! But if you're not up for it tonight, I understand."

"Oh, we're going. You wouldn't believe the night I had and you're the only person I can talk to about it."

"Ooo. I'm excited now," Savannah said with a giant grin. "I'll let you know when you're first appointment arrives."

It was 7:55 am and her first appointment wasn't until 9. She pulled out her book, _The Night Circus_, and tried settling in for the next hour. After about fifteen minutes of rereading paragraphs due to her distraction, she put her book aside and took out her cellphone.

**Morning. I was wondering if you'd ask Sidney when he would like to reschedule the meeting about Sam. **

Keep it short and unassuming. Dulci didn't know if Carly knew anything about last night. Within minutes, Dulci got a response.

**Sure thing! Are you feeling ok? He told me you seemed ill. I hope you aren't overworking!**

He lied to her. He didn't say anything about the actual circumstances of their first meeting. _Oh thank god_, she said to herself, letting her overwhelming guilt slip away. She knew that if he told her what he'd actually walked in on, Carly would jealously lay into her thinking Dulci was trying to steal him away. Although, in Dulci's mind, there was not physical comparison between Carly and herself. Carly was beautiful and Dulci was mediocre.

**I'm ok. Just overworking and overwhelmed like you said.**

**Well rest up, young lady. We still need to meet for dinner! **

Dulci cringed at the idea because she could bet the meeting would be awkward to say the least.

A couple hours later, Dulci sat at her desk for her afternoon break to call clients and write her SOAPs. When she was finished, she took her phone out of her desk to check on any texts. She had a missed call and message from a number she didn't recognize. Pressing the play button, her heart started pounding when she heard the voicemail.

**Hey. It's Sidney. Give me a call when you get this.**

Why couldn't he have texted her back? It was already awkward enough and in that moment she thought about telling Carly he should see another veterinarian because it would be a conflict of interest. However, the thought of explaining why she didn't want to see Sidney seemed like a bigger battle than it was worth. She had to face it head on. Pressing the call button, the phone rang and with each passing ring, Dulci thought she may get his voicemail and wouldn't have to directly speak to him. She'd eventually officially meet him, but the memory of her previous night made her flush with embarrassment.

"Hello?"

Fuck!

"Ahem. Hi. This is Dr. Hammett returning your call," she said with a high and unnatural, panicky sounding voice.

"I'm sorry. Who?"

_STUPID_! She called her friend's boyfriend and introduced herself like she would her clients.

"Uh. Dulci. It's Dulci. Sorry, I'm used to calling myself by my last name at work." She slapped her hand on her forehead_. I'm sure you can dig your way out of this by excessively rambling. _

Deep breath. "Carly mentioned your dog isn't well and you wanted me to take a look?"

"That'd be great if it's not too much of a hassle. Would you be willing to look at her at my place tonight? I know it's short notice but the season is starting soon and It'll be hard for me to go out in public."

"Sure. I should be out of here at six-ish." She silently thanked god he wanted her to meet at his and Carly's place instead of asking to meet at her house.

"Great. I'll text my address. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

After hanging up, Dulci looked down at what she was wearing. She donned a pewter grey cable knit sweater and blue pants with black flats. She either worked wearing business casual clothing or scrubs, and she chided herself for not wearing the latter. She'd change into jeans and sandals before going to Carly's but was thankful her outfit covered her entire body and left little to the imagination.

_So he saw you naked? Nothing you can do about. Act like nothing happened. Or, since he already supplied an excuse, act like you're getting over whatever illness you had. You can do this_.

Dulci was sweating. It didn't help that she was wearing a thick sweater and was nervous about her current conundrum. After ringing the doorbell, the door flew open and Carly was hugging Dulci into the house. Once Carly was done with her smothering hug, she held Dulci back at arms length.

"Dulci! You've lost weight! You so little." Normally Dulci would take that as a compliment, but the concerned look coming from Carly made her frown.

"Have you been eating? I've never seen you this thin."

Dulci slowly backed away and tried her best to physically hide herself.

"Yes I eat. Just not as much as I should on occasion. Sometimes I don't have enough time to eat lunch so I have breakfast and dinner," she offered as an excuse. She found it hard to make eye contact with Carly because she was always so intense about things. If she didn't like something, all those who knew her would know.

"Well you look good regardless! I'm so glad to see you! Let me grab Sid and let him know you're here."

Dulci followed Carly toward a door that must've lead to the basement where she listened to Carly announce her arrival. Dulci wandered into the massive living room and looked around to take in the surroundings. She instantly noticed the yellow lab as it trotted over, non weight bearing on her rear left leg. Dulci kneeled down to pet the dog as she rolled onto her back exposing her belly.

"I see you met Sam."

Dulci turned toward the voice coming from behind her to find herself in a roll reversal from the previous night. There he was, in his shirtless sweaty glory, staring down at Dulci with an unreadable look on his face. Her mouth instantly went dry. She could tell he worked out from what she saw last night, but seeing him without a shirt was like dangling candy in front of a diabetic. Before Dulci could respond, Carly came barreling into the room.

"Oh good! You've decided to join us. You really need a shower. You stink," Carly said sweetly as she kissed him and swatted his butt as he walked away.

"He's a total babe, isn't he?"

Dulci gulped. "He's good looking," she shrugged trying to play it off. "You know athletes aren't really my type."

"Yeah, yeah. Want anything to drink? Water? Wine?"

"Wine would be great," Dulci smiled. _Wine, and lots of it_, she thought to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

"Let me look into your beautiful eyes," Dulci cooed at Sam as she began her physical exam. She was happy to be distracted with the important task as hand, something she knew she was good at, rather than daydreaming about Sidney with his shirt off. At least he was dressed at this point. But Dulci couldn't decide what was worse, sweaty and shirtless, or showered fresh with the most Devine smelling cologne that may serve as an aroma aphrodisiac. Not only did he smell like sex, but he was wearing a tee shirt that was so tight to his body that Dulci was sure it could bust at the seams at any moment.

"Wow. A lab with clean ears. That's atypical," Dulci joked as she moved from Sam's eyes to her ears.

"Yeah. She used to get horrible infections as a puppy so my parents would religiously clean and medicate them. Hopefully I can keep up with my schedule," he said while rubbing her ears and making her back leg thump.

"What type of infections did she have?" Dulci already knew the answer. Most ear infections consisted of an abundance of yeast and bacteria, and if the patient was really lucky, they would also have rods.

"Good question… I'd have to call and ask my mom. I can't remember off hand."

"She has a little tartar on her teeth. She could probably benefit from

A dental cleaning if it's an option for you." Moving to feel for her lymph nodes, "Her lymph nodes feel normal." Dulci stood and moved to the opposite end of the dog to palmate her abdomen. "Everything feels normal in here. Last thing I have to do is listen to your heart and lungs miss Sam." Putting her stethoscope on, she gently placed her hand and instrument on Sam's chest. "Her heart and lungs sound great. Do you run with her?" Dulci asked making eye contact with Sidney for the first time since the previous evening. She figured if she didn't see look directly at him, she wouldn't have to deal with the humiliation of her indecency. Her instincts were correct. She shouldn't have looked because, although she knew it was her imagination, she could see herself stark naked in his eyes. Not to mention that she worried that he would forever think she was lewd.

"I've never ran with her until recently. Maybe started about two months ago. We went on a long run yesterday morning and she started limping yesterday afternoon."

"Let me check this out. Do you mind helping me put her on her side?" Dulci asked and without a verbal answer, Sidney had flipped Sam onto her side.

She placed her hands above and below Sam's gimpy leg and gently pushed and pulled at her knee, checking for the tell tale test of ligament issues; drawer and hyperextension. "That's definitely a no-brainer. She ruptured her ACL for sure but will need surgery to see if it's also a meniscal tear. She can get up now."

Reaching into her work satchel, she pulled out her own personal chart with a new medical history sheet sitting on top. She was writing her subjective and objective examinations when she was interrupted.

"What does SOAP mean?"

"The S and O stand for subjective and objective. The A stands for assessment and the P stands for plan, which is what we're about to discuss," she smiled at him putting her pen down.

"Theoretically, with a partial anterior cruciate ligament tear, extensive rest and limited exercise are recommended along with physical therapy. However, Sam's drawer test was quite obvious that her cruciate is ruptured. With that being said, she'll need surgery to have it repaired. Does she see a veterinarian in the area?"

"I usually leave her in Nova Scotia with my parents, but since Carly moved in, I figured I could keep her closer and Carly could take care of her while I travel with the team. I figured you could be her primary veterinarian here." The comment about Carly caring for a dog made Dulci laugh.

"You must not know Carly very well. She loathes animals. In fact, I'm surprised she agreed to Sam living here."

Dulci immediately mentally kicked herself for making a joke, because the smile that appeared on his face would make any girl swoon. It was a genuinely happy smile that consumed his entire face.

"Trust me, I had to fight to get her here," he chuckled.

"I know you have time limits due to your schedule but I was wondering if you'd be able or willing to drop her off tomorrow so I can sedate her for X-rays?" She asked while patting Sam's belly again.

"I think I could probably do that," he said with a nod.

"Don't feed her breakfast in the morning. She needs to fast for the sedation," Dulci instructed as continued to write her assessment and plan for Sam's medical history and finally putting her chart into her satchel. She looked at her watch realizing she had probably been there too long and Savannah was probably waiting patiently for her.

"We're ordering Chinese for dinner. Who you like to join us?" Sidney asked taking Dulci by surprise.

"Umm. I'd love to, but I'm already late for drinks with a friend" she explained regrettably while lugging her medical bag over her shoulder and gesturing toward the door.

"Right. Let me walk you out."

_Christ. He's beyond attractive, smells like bottled sex, and has manners. _She followed him to the door and as he opened it, he turned toward her in a way that blocked her from leaving.

"Listen, I'm sorry about last night. Carly told me you knew I'd be coming over. Obviously you didn't." At this point he could see how flushed and embarrassed she was at the thought.

"I didn't see anything. I mean, peripherally I did but I tried not to look." Now he was getting flushed because he did see everything. All her bits and pieces.

"Let's just forget it happened," she responded quickly, but it came out sounding a bit harsh. She knew he was attempting to put her mind at ease. "And thank you for the bizarre tampon trick and cleaning the kitchen floor. You didn't have to."

"Well I couldn't let you walk into broken glass, otherwise I'd be shoving tampons in your nose and picking glass shards out of your feet," he quipped, causing her to laugh loudly.

Dulci turned to walk to her car. She expected the front door to be closed and locked already, but as she turned around, he was standing outside the front door waiting to make sure she got off ok. It made her smile, but she tried not to show it. Rolling down her window she shouted, "Don't forget. No food tomorrow morning."

"Sure thing, Dr. Hammett," Sidney said while waving with a lopsided grin.

Dulci shook her head to herself and backed out of the driveway, she called Savannah to confirm they were still having drinks and drove in the direction of the restaurant.

After watching some television in the living room, Sidney decided it was time for bed. He knew his day would start early tomorrow. Walking into his bedroom, he immediately walked into his closet to undress.

"Babe? What the fuck is this?" He heard Carly ask from the bed.

"What's what?" He exited the closet in only his boxer briefs and pulled his side of the comforter back.

"This," she displayed the iPad and his heart rate doubled. He was staring at the bondage fetish store website with the hog tie getup displayed. He must not have exited the page properly.

"Why were you looking at this filthy shit? It's disgusting!"

_Oh fuck. How the fuck am I going to pull this off?_ "One of the rookies tells us that his girl is into bondage and fetish shit. I was just curious," he shrugged rubbing the back if his neck nervously. He was hoping and praying she wouldn't try to dig any further into the matter.

"Well she must be one perverted freaky bitch that I'm not going to befriend," Carly snorted before tossing the iPad in his direction.

"Please do something with that website. It's freaking me out. I'm going to be scarred for weeks." If only you knew about Dulci.

"I bet I can think of a few ways to distract you," he whispered seductively in her ear before gently taking her earlobe between his teeth and continued kissing across her cheek before crashing his lips onto her's.

Dulci took a long dip of her margarita so her mouth could do something other than smile at the thought of sweaty chests and goofy crooked grins.

"Alright. Spill it," Savannah inquired looking suspicious of Dulci's obvious inattention.

"Spill what?"

"You've had this giant grin plastered to your face since you walked in. I could even hear it in your voice when you called earlier. I've also been talking to you for five minutes and you haven't heard any of it."

"Oh my god. I'm a horrible person," Dulci groaned as she put her face in her hands, elbows resting on the table. "This is going to sound so ludicrous but you have to promise you won't tell anyone or judge me."

"I've got my own problems. Who am I to judge?" This is why Dulci loved Savannah. She truly was a non-judgmental person. She explained in detail the events of the previous night and earlier that evening.

"So you've fallen victim, too, huh? You look and sound like Amy and Laura right now" Savannah asked with an unimpressed look.

"Fallen victim? What do you mean?"

"Sidney Crosby. Any girl who watches hockey is usually smitten with him. Go to any Pens game. Girls and women alike are fawning over him. He's even had girls dress in wedding gowns with 'marry me' signs."

"You watch hockey and you don't seem interested," Dulci countered.

"Don't get me wrong. I'd fuck him three ways from Sunday, but I'm

not a penguins fan and I think he's kind of… what's the word… whiny."

"Whiny how so?"

"Come over to my place one day and I'll give you a proper hockey education and some dirt on the players including your boyfriend," Savannah offered with a shit eating grin.

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Dulci shook her head taking another hefty sip of her margarita.

Dulci arrived home a few hours later. She had more margaritas than she should have to drive and was cleaning out her cat's litter box when she felt her phone vibrating in her back pocket. She had two notifications; one from Sidney and one from Carly. She opened Carly's first.

**I NEED TO TALK TO YOU ASAP! It's urgent. Please call me!**

Knowing that Carly is one to overreact and fly off the handle, Dulci called her and was slightly taken aback by the greeting.

"I think Sid's cheating on me." Dulci could hear the panic in her voice.

"Slow down and take a deep breath, Carly. What makes you say that?"

"Well, to start, he NEVER gets on his phone after we have sex. Like, ever. We cuddle. But tonight, he got out if bed with his phone and did god knows what with it in the bathroom."

"Maybe he needed to pee?" Dulci offered as a suggestion.

"Dulci! He was in there for ten minutes! But that's not all. The sex was fucking terrible. He was being more aggressive than usual and even tried to hold my wrists above my head as if to bind me! He was distracted. I know it. He's thinking about that whore."

"Do you have actual proof that there is another girl?" Dulci knew given Carly's previous relationships, she would forever be a jealous girlfriend with or without cause to worry.

"Kind of! I found his iPad in his nightstand where it's never stored. The Internet was on some BDSM site. And when I reviewed the browser history, it looked like he reviewed hog ties, spreader bars, and bondage tape. So fucking disgusting..." Carly continued but Dulci stopped listening. It sounded eerily familiar. Thinking about the previous evening, she remembered the stuff on her bed, exactly what was in Sidney's search history. She also remembered that he texted her shortly before Carly asked Dulci to call.

"Have you talked to him about the website? Maybe there's a reason he was looking, or, better, maybe some of his team mates were playing a cruel joke?"

"Apparently one of the rookie's girlfriends is into it and he talks about it in the locker room. Dulci, what self-respecting woman would be into that shit?" Dulci could imagine the look on Carly's face, pure disgust and uncertainty.

"Well, it is a life style choice and what people do behind closed doors is their own business." Dulci hoped that she didn't give herself away in that moment. Nobody except Henry, and now Sidney Crosby, knew about her sexual preferences. "And I'm sure he's not fucking around on you. He adores you. Talk to him about it. Maybe he thought you might like it rougher than normal? Variety is the spice of life, so they say."

"You're the sweetest, Dulc! And thank God we have normal sex lives! Anyway, I'm gonna go to bed. I'm beat. Goodnight!"

"Night."

Dulci contemplated opening the text from Sidney. If she needed to respond, it would surely alert him somehow and that would make Carly even more suspicious. She told herself that if the text needed a response, she would do it in the morning.

**You never told me what time to drop Sam off, or what hospital you work at for that matter. **

_Of course it warrants a reply. _She quickly exited Sidney's message thread to go back to Carly's.

**I forgot to tell Sidney to drop Sam off at the hospital between 7:30 and 9:00am. I won't be there until 10. **

Settling into bed for the night with her orthopedic's surgery textbook, she was falling asleep as her phone buzzed.

**I'm telling him to drop her off at your place around 8. **

Dulci groaned out loud before turning off her lamp and burying her face in her pillow for much needed sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

"Can I have some 3/O PDS, please?" Sam's cruciate repair surgery was in the final stages. Dulci had opened to knee capsule and joint, successfully taken out the ruptured ACL and meniscus, artificially secured the ligaments with heavy-duty monofilament, and began to suture the muscles and skin closed before bandaging the leg. All at once, the blood pressure and pulse-ox machines started beeping, but not in their usual alarms. The pulse-ox would alert with three quick consecutive beeps whereas this beeping sounded more like an unrelenting fire drill.

"How is the patient doing?"

There was no response. When Dulci looked up to check on the patient, she noticed she was the only person in the room. Where was her monitoring technician? Looking at the monitoring devices, Dulci was confused as to why they were alerting her when Sam's heart rate, SPO2, and blood pressure where within their normal limits?

"What the hell? Lindsay? Ashley? Can one of you monitor while the other checks on these machines and figure out why the alarms are going ballistic?" At this point she'd be finished with the surgery at any moment. She continued suturing and noticed through the corner of her eye that one of her technicians had finally arrived.

"Can you at least silence the machines while I finish?"

There was no response and no change in the machines. When Dulci looked up at her technician expectantly, she locked eyes with Sidney. Within that moment, all the air in the room had vanished and she dropped her needle drivers onto the drape. He was shirtless again, but instead of wearing gym shorts, he was wearing only underwear that sat extraordinarily low on his abdomen.

"What are you doing here? And why aren't you dressed?"

He didn't respond. He only looked at her with a very seductive stare and she couldn't look away, well, not from his midriff, at least. What the hell was going on? He needed to leave or she wouldn't be able to finish the surgery with him as a distraction.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Dulci was bewildered. What the fuck was he talking about? Within seconds, she was cold, as if someone turned the air conditioner from seventy-two to sixty. This was odd considering she was wearing a cotton surgical gown and the surgery suite was always stuffy. She couldn't help by feel goose bumps growing all over her body, and when she looked down, she noticed she was completely naked. She instantly went to cover herself with her arms as much as possible before and turning away from him. When she looked up, hoping he had walked out of the room, he was standing within inches of her. Everything else in the suite had also vanished, except for the relentless beeping of the surgical machines.

"Look at me." He was barely audible over the noise.

"I am," Dulci responded breathily as if entranced.

"Give me your hand." Without breaking eye contact, she slowly raised her hand toward him and wasn't paying attention to what he was doing until she felt something chilly and smooth wrapping around her wrist. When she looked down, she saw him putting leather cuffs on her, the same set that she wore for Henry when Sidney ambushed her. She noticed she was wearing them on the other wrist and ankles as well. The beeping was getting louder.

"Turn around and bend over," he whispered in her ear. She closed her eyes. She had to stop herself and him before she fucked her best friend's boyfriend. But the idea of it was too much to stop. Dulci slowly turned and bent forward. All of a sudden, her ankles and wrists were in the spreader bar and she was fully exposed from behind. She felt one hand gently rub her ass with a cooling cream, probably spanking cream, while the other grabbed her hair at the base of her hand and pulled back hard. Before she knew it, the hand on her ass disappeared and came back with a resounding smack.

Dulci flew up. She was sitting on her bed, excessively sweating, and gripping the comforter like it was her savior. She grabbed her phone, which was blaring the alarm clock, and disabled it. It was 6:30am.

"Jesus Christ…" she sighed and started giggling at how absurd, yet real, her dream seemed. The giggle became a full blow belly laugh. Her phone started buzzing.

**I'll be over around 8:30, usual time. Hopefully you wont have any visitors this time ;)**

"Absofuckinglutely," she mumbled as she responded. After that dream, she needed sexual release, and the sooner, the better.

An hour later, Dulci was sitting at her kitchen table drinking coffee and reviewing her orthopedic surgery textbook once more before Sam's procedure that day. She was wondering what time Sidney would be over with Sam as she took a bite of her bagel. It was as if she had some sort of ESP because she received a text message from him at that moment.

I'm on my way. Are you decent?

Was he flirting? She reread the text about seven more times. How the hell was she going to respond? A small devious part of her wanted to respond with "You'll just have to find out." No. She wasn't going to respond. She needed to get her head together and stop being a creep about this.

Within fifteen minutes, she heard a knock at the door. When she opened it, Sidney stood before her with his eyes closed and a goofy smile on his face. He had Sam's leash looped around his arm that was carrying a Starbucks coffee cup.

"Ha! Ha! Funny…" Dulci said sarcastically.

"Well. You never responded to my message so I didn't know what to expect."

"I'll take Sam so you can leave if you're in a hurry," Dulci said reaching for the leash. "I know how much Carly loves her Starbucks in the morning," she joked.

"Actually the Starbucks is for you. Carly told me your favorite drink is hot peppermint mocha with whipped cream," he said handing it to her.

"Oh… Thank you." They stood in her doorway for what seemed like forever before Dulci regained her senses. "Would you like to come in?" she asked with an awkward hand gesture into the house.

"I can't. I have practice."

"Oh ok. I'll call or text after I take a look at her x-rays. Question. Are you planning to pick her up at the hospital?"

"I was hoping I could either pick her up here or if you'd be willing to drop her off at my place, that'd be great."

"I could probably swing by after work. Actually, instead of talking over the phone, the better option would be to show you the x-rays."

"That'll work. Thanks." He smiled and turned toward his idling Range Rover.

Dulci turned inside and shut the door. "Sam, what are we going to do for the next hour?" She asked herself out loud, and when she looked over, Sam was staring at her with perky ears and a head tilt.

After finishing her make up, she looked at her watch to see that she needed to leave soon. Sam had been attentively watching her in the bathroom but seemed to have disappeared at some point. Walking into the living room, Dulci saw that Sam was lying sprawled out on her couch with Dulci's cat wedged between her legs. She took out her phone and snapped a picture. Attaching the picture to a message.

**She's made herself right at home. Even made a friend! :-)**

"Dr. Hammett! This dog has an obstruction. It needs an exploratory."

Dulci walked into the X-ray room to review the films. "Oh man," she groaned. The sixteen week old puppy needed an exploratory surgery to remove the obstruction days ago. At this point, she had too much fluid on her abdomen and was probably on the brink of sepsis. Survival with surgery was grave. _Fuck…_

"Beth, will you put the owners into a room, please?" She sighed. It was going to be bad. While she prayed they'd be willing to take the puppy for emergency surgery, it probably wasn't an option and suffering wasn't either.

Five minutes later, she was placing an IV catheter for humane euthanasia on a puppy that was licking her hand and still wagging it's tale. Happy sick animals were the worst. She had another one to do later that evening; a six year old happy Old English Sheepdog with bone cancer that has metastasized to her lungs but still had a decent quality of life. Euthanizing was the hardest part of her job.

Afterward, she collapsed into her desk chair and noticed she had a pile of laboratory results waiting to be interpreted, and none of it was cut and dry. One spleen biopsy came back as hemangiosarcoma. Two senior cats came back in end stage renal failure. The last chart's results belonged to the lymphoma patient seen by Dr. Harrison two says prior. Chemo wasn't an option. The lymphoma was stage four. Dulci rubbed her face and picked up the phone to make the first bad news phone call. Hearing the disappointment and crying always made her shed a tear.

"Have you ever been with a girl that was super kinky?"

James shot Sidney an incredulous look. "Have we met? Of course!"

"Have you fucked girls that liked to be tied up and restrained?" Sidney couldn't even look at James. He'd been with Carly for quite some time and never mentioned any kind of deviant sexual activity. He could almost feel James reading his mind as he glanced at him through his peripheral vision.

"Is Carly into that shit? I would have never pegged her for a freak. Good for you man!" James slapped Sidney on his back.

"It's not Carly. I ended up on a bondage website the other day and…"

"I would've never pegged you as one to watch BDSM porn either, Crosby!" James interrupted.

"Dude, keep your voice down!" Sidney hissed at James. After looking around and noticing nobody was listening to their conversation, he continued. "I don't watch that shit and I ended up at a bondage fetish online store. I was just curious. It looked… interesting."

"Trust me. It is." And with that, Sidney walked away to shower before leaving. Speaking of bondage, he was wondering why Dulci hadn't tried to get in contact with him regarding Sam's sedation. He'd try and call her back when he was done showering.

"Who's Dulci?"

The question took Sidney right out of his focus. How did James know about Dulci and more importantly, why was he asking? Did he actually read Sidney's mind a few minutes ago?

"Excuse me?" He hoped he didn't look as taken aback as he felt.

"You got a text earlier from someone named Dulci with a picture of Sam on a couch with a flirty message. You got something going on on the side?" James joked wiggling his eyebrows.

Sidney rolled his eyes at his teammate. "No man. She's Carly's best friend from college. She a veterinarian and Sam's ruptured her ACL. She taking a look for me," he explained taking his gear off.

"Is she hot?"

"She's cute," he shrugged. Dulci was pretty. Not supermodel beautiful, but she had beautiful blue eyes framed with long lashes that always seemed to be accentuated by her shirt or eye makeup. She had thick, luscious brown hair that ran midway down her back. She had a lot of freckles, more so on her body than her face. She wasn't too tall or too short. Of course, since he saw her unclothed, he knew she was in decent physical shape. _Totally down for a hog tie and rough sex_, he thought but immediately shook the thought off. "You'd probably be into her."

"Well bring her to a game or out afterward. I'd be down to meet her," James smiled walking out of the locker room.

"Dulci! Thank God you called! I need your help!" Carly shouted with a panicky voice.

"I'm on my way over with Sam. What's wrong? Is everything ok?" Dulci cringed waiting for Carly's response. She was already emotionally drained from her day of death and terminal illness at the animal hospital, and dealing with Carly's neuroses would most likely put her over the edge.

"I'm physically ok. Just get here soon, please!"

Twenty minutes later, Dulci pulled into Sidney's driveway. She grabbed Sam's leash and walked her into the front door that was opened for her.

"Carly? Where are you?"

"I'm in the bathroom," Carly responded between sniffles and sobs. Dulci only dropped Sam's leash and rushed to where her friend was in emotional distress.

"Hey. What's going on in… Holy shit." Dulci looked onto the vanity to find four different brands of pregnancy tests all displaying positive results. Between Carly's reaction, balled up and crying on the floor against the wall, and the amount of tests, Dulci knew the pregnancy was not planned or wanted. She instantly dropped to the ground and wrapped her arms around her friend, holding her as tight to her body as she could get her. Dulci must have held on for at least ten minutes listening to Carly cry before they parted.

"I have to get it taken care of," Carly spurted as she wiped her nose on the side of her sweatshirt. It made Dulci nauseous.

"Don't you want to talk to Sidney first before you make a decision?" Dulci was hoping that Carly would come to her senses once she brought up her boyfriend and his feelings.

"Absolutely not! The sooner I get it out, the better. I've never wanted to have kids or get married, especially with someone who's gone half the time on road trips. I'd be raising this kid by myself."

"You wouldn't be raising a baby by yourself. I could help you while he's away. Besides, you and the baby would always be taken care of. Sidney seems like the type of guy that would make an honest woman out of you." Dulci was hoping that she would at least sleep on it. Abortion wasn't a decision to take lightly, not matter what the circumstances.

"Will you take me to a clinic? Please. You're the only one who would understand," Carly pleaded to Dulci. It was as if Carly wasn't hearing anything Dulci was advocating. Remembering all of the times Carly had been there for Dulci, she nodded her head and held Carly close again. She felt numb.

They were both lost in thought when the front door opened. Both girls scurried to look and seem normal. Dulci grabbed the pregnancy tests and threw them in her satchel before walking out of the bathroom and neglecting the four empty wrappers in the trashcan.

She quickly said he goodbyes to both and headed toward her car. She felt horrible not staying to talk about Sam's x-rays, but the new information that she would be harboring made her feel cramped in his giant house.

Dulci got home a little before 8:30 and was relieved when she heard Henry knock at the door. She needed her proverbial brains to be fucked out of her body after the shitty day she experienced.


	5. Chapter 5

Dulci awoke the next day feeling just as mentally and emotionally as groggy as she was the day before. The droves of sick and terminal animals came in phases at work. One week she could be dealing with nothing but exceptionally healthy and happy animals for vaccines and minor illnesses like skin, ear, or eye infections, but the next week would be congestive heart failure, kidney and liver failure, crippling arthritis, or worse, cancer. Thinking back on her appoints she saw yesterday, she knew she'd have some interesting results siting on her desk for tomorrow. She wouldn't think about it now, she wanted to relax on her day off.

She wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but it must've been early because she sun was just starting to rise and she could see the hint of sun through her curtains. It was a little after seven. She would normally sleep in a little on her off day, but since she was wide awake, she figured she'd make the most of her morning and go see her personal trainer, Shaun T and suffer through Insanity.

The hot water of the shower was divine. Dulci stood in the stream for close to ten minutes before she even washed her hair or her body. She was reveling in the soreness of her muscles from her workout that was probably exacerbated from her activities with Henry.

Last night, Henry did exactly what she'd hoped his presence would provide, a good long thoroughly satisfying fuck and Dulci was never left disappointed. Their routine was always the same. He'd come to her place, she'd never go to his, but she didn't mind. They'd start by having a glass of wine or two and talk vaguely about their day. Then he'd disappear and come back into her kitchen with some sort of restraint and their playtime would begin. He'd start by undressing her and binding her hands behind her back. Then he'd continue touching and caressing her to get her going. He would nip and suck her neck as her started the excruciatingly slow fondling of her nipples. She would start by lightly brushing over and around her entire breast with his fingers, and once her got to her nipples, he would flick them with his thumbs, lightly palm them, or tug them, which he knew was Dulci's favorite because of the soft moans she would emit. After a few moments of that, he'd left one of his hands travel south to start antagonizing her clitoris while still pleasuring her nipple with the other hand. He'd usually lift one of her legs to rest on the kitchen island as she thought the orgasms felt best when her legs were spread wide. Holding her tight, mostly for her balance, he'd start a hard and fast rubbing assault on her clitoris until she was collapsing into him with a leg weakening orgasm. Then, depending on how she wanted it, he'd put her into another restraint and fuck her hard and fast until she came again. Only then would he let himself finish.

After drying off, Dulci threw on a tee shirt and a pair of crappy, well-worn jeans. She knew she needed to clean, but first, she needed to drink some coffee and decided it was a good time to check her email. The only two that stuck out were from her cousin Aggie in England sending her an invite to their grandmother's surprise 80th birthday party, and one from Savannah with the subject:** Are you forgetting something?**

**You must've been out of it yesterday because you forgot the disc of the X-rays from yesterday for you know who ;-).**

Dulci rolled her eyes.

**So I took the liberty of emailing them to you. Hope you enjoy your day off! See ya tomorrow! -S**

**Ps. Since you're now friends with you know who, I googled him and now I hate you. :-D**

_Shit_! She completely spaced about discussing Sam's X-rays with Sidney after finding Carly so devastated. She grabbed her phone and sent him a text.

**Morning. I have a copy of Sam's X-rays to discuss whenever you're available.**

She didn't expect a quick response so she threw her phone back into her satchel. She'd go grocery shopping and then deep clean her kitchen.

Sidney had just gotten home from an early morning skate and couldn't wait to get into the bathroom. Something he ate didn't sit well. To waste time between contractions, he pulled out his phone to play solitaire. Half way through his game, he received Dulci's text about sam's X-rays.

**I'm free for a few hours today. I'll drive to your place in an hour. Sound good?**

He put his phone on the corner of the counter to collect some toilet paper. When he stood, his elbow hit the corner of his phone and it toppled into the trash can. He couldn't help but notice the multiple types of cylindrical wrappers in the trash and felt anxious when he figured out what kind of wrappers they were. Stuffing them into his pockets, he ran up the stairs to find Carly. She was in his office on a conference call about Chanel's newest foundation being launched at Sephora stores nationwide. He walked up behind her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. He shuffled around the room a bit while she finished her conversation.

"Thank you, sir. That would be great. I'll keep in touch about the new store in England. Good bye."

Carly squealed as she did an excitement dance.

"Babe! They're letting me be the ambassador for the new Sephora in London! I get to spend three weeks over there helping with the store opening!" She ran and jumped into him, wrapping her legs around his waist while peppering kissing all over his face before giving him a deep kiss on the mouth.

"I think I know a way we can celebrate," she whispered seductively into his ear before moving south to lightly suck on his neck. Realizing quickly that he was not reciprocating her sexual advances, she looked at him with a confused look.

"Are you ok? You seem… off."

He felt off. In the past when she's been neurotic and had "pregnancy scares," she'd told him she was concerned and would take a test. He was troubled by the amount of pregnancy test wrappers that he found. Did she take so many because she got a positive result? How would he feel if it were positive? Was he ready to get married and be a father? More importantly, while he loved Carly, was she the person he wanted to start a family with? He pushed all of the frightening thoughts out of his mind, especially questioning his entire relationship with his live in girlfriend.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked her with reservation.

"What do you mean?" she countered with a sideways, inquisitive look.

"I found these in the bathroom," he said as he pulled out all four pregnancy test wrappers.

Carly was hoping that the panic resonating in her body was not evident on her face. It was as if she was caught in a vacuum and all of the air was sucked out of her lungs. She had already called around to various clinics in the area to inquire about scheduling an appointment, and now, given her career turn, she definitely did not want to keep the baby. But he was looking at her as if he knew she was keeping a secret, and she knew she had to make an excuse.

"They're Dulci's," she explained in a rushed voice, but immediately covered her mouth regretting her choice in excuse.

"She's been feeling nauseous and fatigued lately, so I told her to take a test and it was positive. She took four just to be sure." Carly tried her best to keep her explanation from sounding like word vomit, but the lies kept spewing out.

"If you see her anytime soon, please don't say anything about it. She's very upset and she swore me to secrecy because she's not sure what she's going to do. That's why she ran out of her when you got home last night. She's embarrassed."

Sidney instantly looked relieved that Carly wasn't pregnant.

"Ok. I promise not to say anything. I'm actually going to see her soon to talk about Sam." He couldn't help that Carly looked panicked again, but brushed her reaction off as a girl worried about her best friend.

"I'll need quinoa, chick peas, curry paste, ..." Dulci rattled off her ingredient list for the new recipe she was trying. After she piled her grocery bags into her car, she pulled out her phone to check the time and found that she missed a text message.

**I'm free for a few hours today. I'll drive to your place in an hour. Sound good?**

The time stamp said it was received around fifty minutes ago. How'd she miss it? Hopefully he was running late so she could get home and quickly throw the groceries into the refrigerator and freshen up. She quickly sent a response.

**I'm leaving the grocery store now. I'll be home in fifteen minutes.**

As she was backing out of her parking space, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Dulc. It's me. I did something horrible." It was Carly and she sounded nervous.

"Like?"

"So I guess I didn't do a good enough job hiding the evidence of my current conundrum because Sid found the wrappers this morning." Although it wasn't her problem to be worried about, Dulci was still worried for Carly in how she would handle it. If he were to find out she was pregnant and had an abortion, it would be death to their relationship, and Dulci would know first hand.

"What'd you tell him?"

"Well, he was staring at me expectantly and the first thought that came to mind was to tell him they were your wrappers."

"WHAT? Why would you do that?" Dulci almost slammed on her brakes at Carly's confession.

"That was the perfect opportunity to have a fucking adult conversation with him about being pregnant and you blamed the wrappers on me? Carly, seriously?"

"Dulci, why are you getting upset?"

"Umm, how about the fact that I'm not pregnant and within a couple of months he'll expect to see me with a belly and it wont be there? Not the mention the fact that he'll probably look at me like I'm a poor girl that'll end up as a single overworked mother."

"You don't have to worry about what he thinks. We can just say you miscarried or aborted or something. He's a nonjudgmental person." After hearing that, Dulci was beyond pissed.

"So you're telling me instead of just being honest and telling him you were pregnant but wanted to get rid of it, you're just going to lie to him and act like everything is peachy keen?"

"Ignorance is bliss, Dulci. I can't get pregnant. Like I said last night, I don't want kids, like ever. I'm going to England in a few weeks and I'll be there for some time. A baby is not an option."

"Why are you with him, Carly? People live together who are planning to take their relationship to the next level. What would you say if he proposed?"

"Not that its any of your business, but I never really saw myself being with Sidney for that long. I originally went after him because he seemed like he'd be a good fuck. I'm not the marrying kind, Dulci. You and I both know that. This is my longest relationship. Besides, if the Sephora opening in London goes as planned, I may not come back."

"I'm aware, but does he know that? Before he gets anymore involved, don't you think he should know this stuff?" Dulci waited for a response, but when it wasn't immediate, she knew Carly was shutting down.

"Carly, I love you to death, but you need to tell him about your feelings. If you've never planned to be with him long term, you could at least give him the courtesy of knowing that if you never tell him about the baby. Speaking of, I don't want to be involved."

"Fine. I'll find someone else to take me." And with that Carly hung up the phone. Dulci shook her head and tossed her phone on per passenger seat.

Fifteen minutes later, Dulci pulled into her driveway. There weren't any vehicles waiting outside her house and she thanked God she had a moment to get her groceries inside. She opened her trunk and was eagerly pulling bags out when a dark Range Rover pulled in. Sidney quickly jumped out and reached out to take some of the bags out of her hands."

"Here. Let me help with those." Dulci was instantly irate because of the disabled look her was giving her like she was an invalid, and she knew it was because of Carly.

"Thanks for the offer, but I've got it," she said as she pulled the bag back out of his hand. Of course, the bag tore in half and all of the ingredients fell onto the concrete. Simultaneously, they both bend down to collect the grocery items and collided in the process.

"Oww!" Dulci pulled back and grabbed her forehead before looking at Sidney. He was feeling his bottom lip when looked to be split and bleeding and puffy.

"Oh my God. Are you ok? I'm so sorry!" She grabbed his clean hand and walked him into her house and into the bathroom.

"I'm fine. It's just a cut. Nothing big," he tried to calm her with his nonchalant tone. She manipulated his head so she could see the cut better in the bathroom light, and it wasn't until she looked into his eyes that she realized how close they were and instantly overcorrected. Regardless of whether Carly actually loved him, he was still with her.

"Besides, I've had worse injuries. This is like getting hit with a high stick to the face," he offered with a crooked smile that he'd hoped would make her feel better and take some of the tension out of the room. She smiled back at him.

"Let me grab the rest of the groceries and then I'll explain Sam's radiographs and lab work to you. Please, make yourself at home. There are drinks in the fridge," she hollered as she stepped outside.

While she was outside, Sidney wandered into the kitchen and saw the chicken korma recipe opened on her counter. When she returned, she noticed him looking at it.

"This looks delicious."

"I'm making it for lunch." Then Dulci had an idea. She wasn't sure how he'd take it, but she wanted to get to know him better. "You're welcome to stay and have some if you'd like?" When she didn't get a verbal response, she looked at him. He looked to be contemplating something.

"I don't want to put you out. I eat a lot of food."

"The recipe makes eight servings, I'll probably only eat two and you can have the other six."

"I don't need to eat six servings," he said with a chuckle.

"You're right, you don't," she said with a smile as she put the milk in the refrigerator.

"This is delicious. You're a great cook."

"Thanks. I learned to cook by experimenting. I actually thought about going to culinary school when I was a teenager."

"But animals were you're first love?"

"I guess you could say that. A dog that got benignly injured mauled me when I was eight-ish. In my mind, I figured he was mean because he was in pain and I vowed to become a veterinarian at that point, to take care of the injured animals. In hindsight, however, the dog was just a dick."

"Do you get bit often?"

"Hmm. I'd say the threat is there about twenty percent of the time. I can usually read my patients pretty well and avoid getting hurt." She looked as Sidney and he was nodding his head in understanding.

"Speaking of injuries, you said you've had worse injuries than a busted lip. What was the worst you've had?" She didn't realize the response she would get would be so devastating and life altering. She was heartbroken at the way he spoke about his concussion as if he was still living it. When he told her that the neurologist thought his personality might have changed, she took the opening and ran with it.

"Ohhh. So that's why you're with Carly. You're judgment was distorted when you met. It all makes sense now," Dulci joked and she was happy with the payoff because he laughed.

"So were you concussed when you met her, too?"

"Touche! I'm not sure how much she told you, but I was her tutor for a couple science classes in college. We were and still are complete opposites. She was about beauty and fashion whereas I'm about being comfortable and keeping it low key. She still hates my sense of fashion."

"Well, you always look well put together when I see you," he offered with a warm and friendly smile to which she returned with a slight blush. She couldn't help but think that he noticed her when they saw each other.

"She grew on me and we became inseparable. I'm sure you know what I mean." Instead of answering, Sidney just smiled and nodding in return. When Dulci looked at her watch, she realized that two hours had already past between the cooking and casual conversation. She knew he was there strictly to talk about Sam's results, so she grabbed the empty plates and walked into the kitchen.

"Let me grab my computer and then we'll go over Sam's stuff together."

Upon returning to her living room, she set her computer on the coffee table and opened a folder that contained various types of lab results.

"Ok, this is her knee. I'm sure given your profession, you don't need me to explain in detail the ACL rupture, but it needs to be surgically repaired. When I sedated her, the drawer in her knee was much more evident than when she was awake."

"Can you do the surgery?"

"Yes. Bone surgeries are my favorite." Her face lit up when she talked about her profession, and Sidney couldn't help but return the smile because of her enthusiasm and passion.

"I also sent out some lab work on her. Everything looks good except she has a urinary tract infection. I'm giving you two different medications. This one is an anti-inflammatory and the other is an antibiotic for her UTI." Dulci looked at him and instantly felt hot in his gaze. He had been staring at her for some time during her spiel.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" she touched her face in various places in hopes that there wasn't any korma smeared on her face the entire time. How embarrassing would that be? Her question broke him out of his trance and he subtly shook his head.

"I'm sorry. It's just refreshing to hear someone so passionate and caring about their work. It's also nice to have someone talk to me like I'm an average person. You took the time to explain this to me as if I was a regular client of yours. So, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Sidney stood from the couch and gathered Sam's lab work and medications and shoved them in his jacket pockets.

"I should probably get going. I'm supposed to be meeting Carly at some high end restaurant tonight." Dulci found it interesting that he didn't seem ready to leave. She instantly remembered the irony of his situation with Carly. From their limited encounters, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy, one who deserved way more that Carly could ever give him. Deep down, she wondered if he knew that.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from Carly," Dulci said as she stood and walked him to the door. Suddenly, he turned around and it made Dulci jump.

"Do you want to come to a game?"

"That would be great."

"I'll call you when I figure out my hectic schedule for Sam's surgery and tickets for the game."

"Ok" was the only response she had before he was gone and she was leaning her back against the front door.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a little past 11pm when Dulci put her book on the coffee table before she made her way towards her bedroom for the night. As she was changing into her pajamas, there was insistent knocking at her front door. She quickly threw on an old Virginia Tech tee shirt before heading to her door and peering through the view hole. It was Carly, drunk out of her mind.

"DULCI! Are you home? Open up!" Dulci could imagine Carly leaning against her door as she continued the annoying knocks that ranged from rhythmic jingles, to soft knocks, and then, the most maddening, fist pounding.

"Ugh. Jesus," Dulci muttered under her breath before opening the door. She wasn't sure why Carly was there. They did have an argument earlier and didn't want to fight with a drunken mess. When she opened the door, Carly toppled into the doorjamb and fell onto her hands and knees while laughing hysterically. Dulci knelt down to help her drunken friend while shaking her head in frustration.

"What a goddamn mess," Dulci sighed as she wrapped one of Carly's arms around her shoulder to help lift her up. She walked them both into the living room and over to the couch where they both collapsed. Carly kept her head on Dulci's shoulder and clutched her hand in a friendly gesture.

"Hi Dulci," Carly smiled as she looked up. Dulci instantly smelt the aroma of the most stomach wrenching liquor in her opinion – tequila.

"How much tequila have you drunk?" Dulci asked why subtly trying to push Carly away so she didn't have to smell her breath.

"I dunno. I lost count of the shots." Carly got off the couch and stumbled into Dulci's kitchen and opened the refrigerator, desperate to find some sort of alcohol to continue her buzz.

"Should I ask how you managed to get here?" She was hoping the answer would be "cab," although she knew deep down that Carly wouldn't go to bars or clubs alone unless she was looking for one thing, and it infuriated Dulci to the core. In the past, Carly had been a party animal and had woken up in strange houses without underwear or wearing someone else's clothes. Dulci would always convince her to go to the clinic and get tested. Since college, however, Carly's need for extreme drinking and partying seemed to end, until know.

"This really nice, tall, dark, and handsome guy named John. He had the greatest lips," Carly recalled with a dreamy gaze. She gently touched her own lips before fiercely blushing and grinning. It wasn't until Dulci noticed the smudged lipstick and eye makeup that she realized what Carly had done.

"Oh my God, Carly. You didn't," Dulci whispered covering her mouth with her hand in surprise, disgust, and disappointment.

"Oh for fuck's sake, Dulci. Calm your tits. We just kissed a little," Carly responded waving Dulci's concern away while looking in the cabinets in her continued hunt for something more to drink.

"A little?" Dulci shrieked. Carly shrugged before adding, "More or less."

"What else did you do, Carly?" Dulci probed hard as she walked into the kitchen.

"I didn't fuck him, if that's what you're insinuating," Carly answered dryly.

"A-ha!" Before Carly could get the top off of the bottle of vodka, Dulci ran over and snatched it out of her hand and dumped it down the drain.

"What the fuck are you doing!?"

"I could ask you the same fucking question, Carly. Why are running around Pittsburgh like you're single with your boobs practically hanging out, looking for someone to fuck?" Dulci glowered as she gestured toward Carly's very skimpy outfit. Carly stood staring at Dulci in a drunken stupor.

"When did you become so judgmental?" Dulci instantly regretted being so hard on Carly when she heard the quivering in her voice and the water filling in her eyes.

"I'm sorry to be hard on you, Carly, but you're being reckless. Why did you make out and possible more with a stranger when you're pregnant and in a relationship with someone else?"

"What is it with you and this pregnancy thing? Why do you even care? If I remember correctly, weren't you in a similar situation six years ago with Jason? Wasn't I the one who stepped up and took you to the clinic like a true friend?" Carly threw the memory in Dulci's face.

"Yes you were. And that decision has haunted me every fucking day of my life. I'm thankful that you were there for me, but I also wish that you could've stood there, like I'm standing here now, and told me to think about it before going through with it."

"Oh! So now I'm the horrible friend that made you do something you didn't want to do?"

"Jesus Christ! I never said that. But, as you're friend, I'm telling you now, don't do it. You'll regret it," Dulci practically begged Carly to understand, but it wasn't easy rationalizing with a drunkard. Carly dropped her head in defeat before finally responding.

"The difference in my situation, however, is that you wanted to be with Jason forever and he wanted to be with you. I've always felt that there was something missing with Sidney. During the summer, he's great when we can spend time together. But when he's training and we're here during the season, he's not attentive, he's moody, frustrating, absent. I mean, when he's on a point streak or a winning streak, we can't have sex because of his superstitions. His first love is hockey and nothing or nobody else can replace that. He wouldn't even take me out in public for months, and he still doesn't from time to time because it'll interfere with his persona or some shit. I don't feel wanted."

"Is that why you went out tonight? Looking for attention?"

"I guess you can say that. I never intended to kiss anyone, but when it happened, I felt irresistible again. With Sid, I only felt like that when it was convenient for him."

"Maybe you should be this forthcoming with him."

"Dulci, I have. It doesn't change. He's so committed to hockey that everything else comes second. While he's as sexy as a motherfucker and eats pussy like a champ, there are so many downfalls to being with him. Bringing a child into that, it doesn't seem far to me or a baby." At this point, Carly was crying. Dulci hugged her friend but couldn't help stifling laughter at the cunnilingus comment.

"Please tell me you're not laughing at my expense?"

"'Eats pussy like a champ'? Really?" Soon, they were both laughing on Dulci's kitchen floor.

"I think I need to end it." Carly took Dulci's hand, and Dulci squeezed it in support. She had no idea how complicated Carly and Sidney's relationship was. But then again, she didn't know about their relation for the first half.

"If that's what you think is best for you, then I support your decision."

"Kissing that guy tonight kind of confirmed that for me as sad as that is to say."

Dulci helped Carly off of the kitchen floor and handed her a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"Do you want to stay here or go home?"

"I'll stay here if you don't mind. Do you have something I could wear to sleep?"

"Come on, I'll get you fixed up."

Once Dulci got Carly changed and ready for bed, they both crawled into Dulci's bed to sleep.

"Do you want me to text Sidney and let him know you're ok?" Dulci turned to Carly who was already half passed out and mumbled out an incoherent response. Once Carly started the rhythmic breathing and muffled snoring, Dulci grabbed her phone off the nightstand.

**Carly is with me at my place after a long night of drinking. Don't worry.**

Almost instantaneously, her phone buzzed.

**I've been trying to get ahold of her all night. I'll pick her up in the morning after practice. Thank you.**

Trying to bring light into the conversation, Dulci tried to make a joke.

**Every blondie needs her brownie. :D**

As soon as she put her phone down, it buzzed.

**And a good warm brownie like you at that. :D**

Her face hurt she was smiling so much at his silly text. She turned away from her nightstand and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Dulci tried to wake Carly before she left for work but Carly kept shooing her away. She grabbed some water and ibuprofen for Carly and left it on the nightstand with a note to call when she found her phone.

Carly awoke with a jump when she heard knocking on the door. When she opened the door and saw that it was Sidney, she let him in and went to grab her clothes before leaving.

"So did you go out with Dulci," Sidney asked as they headed back to their house. When she didn't answer immediately, he looked in her direction to find her staring out of the passenger window.

"We need to talk."

"Ok. So I have pizza on the way. I have beer, wine, and tequila if you want margaritas." Dulci stared at Savannah like she was a crazy person as she scurried around her kitchen before the game started.

"Why are you going nuts over this? Its just a game."

"This is the first hockey game that you're going to watch and I want it to be spectacular. I tried to think of arena food to simulate the real experience," Savannah explained.

"You act like I'm going to become some crazed hockey fan. I've never been interested in sports."

"You say that now. Wait until you see you know who," Savannah said with a shit eating grin. Dulci scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Half way into the first period, Dulci was on the edge of Savannah's couch asking as many questions as possible.

"Oh my God. Who knew watching men skate would be so invigorating?"

Savannah burst into laughter watching Dulci.

"Wait until you see a fight. That's hot. So much testosterone. Mmm."

"They fight?"

"Yep. Although, your man doesn't usually fight."

"Jesus. Would you please call him by his name? He's not like Voldemort and he's not my man," she sighed out lout.

"But it sounds like you want him to be." Savannah lifted an eyebrow at Dulci.

"I don't date. You know that." Dulci reminded her.

"Who said anything about dating him?"

When they looked back at the television after the commercial break, Sidney was in the faceoff circle, and when the official dropped the puck, Sidney dropped his stick, threw off his gloves, and went to town on the opponent forward.

"LOOK LOOK LOOK! You know who is fighting… and winning!" Savannah shrieked. Dulci just looked on in amazement as an official lead him off of the ice. She looked at Savannah and let out a weighted breath.

"Wow. I wonder what crawled up his ass?" Savannah asked before heading toward the bathroom. Dulci couldn't help but wonder if she knew the reason for his aggressive behavior. Remembering her conversation with Carly from the previous evening, she wondered if Carly broke up with him earlier that day. She never heard anything, but if Savannah was right and he never fought on the ice, then something was definitely up. She pulled out her phone and contemplated sending him a text message. Would it be inappropriate to continue a friendly relationship with him if he and Carly had broken up? She always figured she would have a professional relationship since he considered her Sam's veterinarian. She pushed her reservations aside and sent a text.

**So my friend tells me you **_**never**_** fight during games.**

She figured if he got weirded out by the text, she'd blame it on the beer even though she wasn't even close to being buzzed. She threw her phone in her bag and decided she wouldn't check her phone until she got home.

Savannah came out of the bathroom just in time for the pizza man to knock on her door.

Dulci grabbed a piece and began eating it, only be to interrupted by Savannah lightly slapping her arm and pointing to the television. When she looked, she stopped chewing and her jaw dropped as Sidney was being interviewed about his fight.

"You can pick your jaw up at any time," Savannah laughed as Dulci turned and slapped her leg.

"There's nothing like a sweaty man. Do you think he looks like that in bed?" Savannah asked staring at the TV with a dreamy look.

"For someone who claimed she thought he was whiny, you sure do seem interested. I can ask Carly for you if you really want to know."

"I'll just wait for you to fuck him and then I can live vicariously through you," she finished with a smile.

"I hate to break it to you, but you'll be waiting a long time."

"I'll bet you a hundred dollars you'll have had Crosby in your bed within the next six months."

It was late and Dulci had to work an early twelve-hour shift the next day. She wasn't looking forward to the five hours of sleep she would have to function on. As she was drifting off, she heard her phone buzz.

**You watched?**

Dulci wiped her eyes so she could make sure she read her phone correctly. It was from Sidney.

**Sure did. My friend Savannah insisted I start watching. "Best sport ever," I believe she said. To be fair, I didn't understand anything that happened, other than your fight.**

She turned onto her back and waited for a response. She told herself that if he didn't respond within five minutes, she would turn the vibrate off on her phone and call it a night.

**Well if you want a proper education and you're available tomorrow night, watch a game with me. :D**


	7. Chapter 7

"Dr. Hammett, there's a client on the phone with a male cat that hasn't urinated in over twenty four hours. The client says he's lethargic, has vomited twice, and has been anorexic for two days. We don't have any open appointments tonight."

_Fuck my life!_ Dulci thought. Blocked cats were never easy. They needed extensive observation and multiple days of hospitalization to monitor urine output. Usually they would re-block at some point and need surgery to widen their urethra. She thought about telling Amy to ask another doctor if they would see it, but knew better. Half the time the others wouldn't want to see the appointment load they already had scheduled, let alone emergencies.

"Tell them to come now and I'll squeeze them in between appointments. Please let them know they'll probably have to wait," she recited to Amy as she finished saving her previous appointments invoice.

"Amy, will you let me know when the cat gets here? I want to make sure it's stable enough to wait."

"Sure thing."

"Thank you." As Amy walked away, Dulci peeked at her watch. It was already 5:30 and she still had a fair amount of appointments to see before the hospital closed. If she actually wanted to go over and get a formal hockey education, she'd have to hustle.

The exam door shut behind her indicating another appointment was waiting to be seen. Pulling the chart out of the holder, she read that the twelve-year-old Pomeranian presented for coughing intermittently for a month. "Heart failure," she mumbled to herself as the technician entered the exam room to get a weight and temperature. It wasn't a request for Dulci, however, and she was booked solid with requests all evening until close. She grabbed the last three charts she'd been carting around and placed them on her desk. The other doctor seeing appointments, Dr. King, was sitting at her desk leisurely writing her exams down. It irked Dulci to no end that Dr. King had to write her SOAPs after every appointment, especially when the hospital was bury, whereas Dulci felt like she had to wait until she had a break to finish her charts.

"Hey Megan, there's an appointment in room four." Dulci hoped Dr. King couldn't hear the irritation in her voice. Dulci was the newest doctor to the practice, but she was the only doctor that seemed eager to do her job. She was willing to accommodate as many clients as possible and do clients favors unlike the others, especially Dr. Megan King.

"Oh, well I'm still SOAPing in this chart and it's going to take a few minutes. I need a few minutes to catch up."

Dulci knew that meant she was going to take her time and let the appointment sit in the room until Dulci eventually caved and saw it. With an eye roll, Dulci placed the charts on her desk and after walking back into the lab, she subtly snatched the chart out of the holder, earning the look of a couple of the technicians. As she reached for the door handle, Alyssa, one of the technicians, caught her attention.

"Dr. Hammett, you're all requests tonight. She needs to get off of her lazy ass and see a damn appointment," Alyssa said pointing toward to doctor's office.

"She's busy finishing a chart." Dulci tried to remain tactful in her response, but knew that everyone within earshot could hear the sarcasm and frustration. And with that, she opened the exam door, introduced herself and started her exam.

Twenty minutes later, Dulci was standing in front of the digital x-ray monitor viewing the ventral dorsal view of the Pomeranian in congestive heart failure with a raging 4/6 heart murmur.

"Hey Hammett, the blocked cat is here. It doesn't look good."

"Ok. Put it in an exam room. I'll be right in." As Dulci stepped out of x-ray waiting for the pseudo emergency to get into a room, Dr. King walked by to review the rads of the heart patient.

"Do you need me to look at these for you?"

"No thanks. I've already reviewed them," she retorted trying her hardest to remain non-confrontational. When she walked into the exam room, the cat was laterally recumbent but still responsive. When she palpated his abdomen to feel his bladder, she almost gasped at the size. After explaining the direness of the situation to the owners, she ran the cat into surgery and sedated him. His blood work showed early signs of renal failure because of the toxins sitting in his bladder for an extended period, which meant she couldn't keep him on gas for long before it caused more damage. After struggling momentarily with the mucous plug at the beginning of the cat's penis, She quickly placed a urinary catheter and relieved his bladder. Alyssa was setting up the cat on IV fluids and hospitalization when Dr. King strolled into the surgical suite.

"Wow. Heart failure and a blocked cat. You must really like overloading yourself," King sighed. Dulci had to hold her tongue. She wanted to scream, "Well somebody has to do it," but didn't need to when she heard those exact words coming out of Alyssa's mouth. So instead, she hid her face and laughed under her breath.

"Ugh. Sorry, I can't stand her. She should've chosen another career path like a paper jockey or something," Alyssa said angrily after Dr. King walked away. Dulci just nodded in agreement.

"Please keep him on twice maintenance fluids and take his vitals while I finish with the heart patient. If anything changes, interrupt me." With that, Dulci walked back into the lab and started typing an extensive take home sheet on caring for pets with congestive heart failure.

"We're leaving. Do you need anything?"

"No. I'm ok. But thank you for asking," she gave Amy a tired smile.

"Just lock me in. I need to finish my charts," she motioned toward the pile starting to topple over on the adjacent desk.

"Don't stay too long," Amy gave Dulci a sympathetic smile before waving and walking toward the reception area.

She put her head on her arms and stayed like that for a few minutes. When she lifted her head and glanced at her watch. It was 7:28pm. Theoretically, if she hunkered down, she could have her charts done in twenty minutes. That was wishful thinking as she forgot she had clients to call. A little over an hour later, she stretched her neck and arms out. The last thing she needed to do was check on her blocked cat. Once he had his narcotic pain medication, he became an absolute lover. She scratched his chin under his e-collar for a few minutes as he kneaded his blanket. Relieved that she was done for the evening, she could finally leave and follow through on her plans with...

"OH FUCK!" She said out loud while digging in her bag for her cellphone. She had three text messages from Sidney.

The first text was sent at 3:56pm

**What kind of carry out do you like?**

The second was sent at 5:15pm

**The game starts at 7:30. **

The last was sent at 6:59pm

**Are we still on for tonight? **

She quickly typed a message back.

**I've had the day from hell and haven't had time to check my phone. I'm really sorry. I'd still like to come over if it's not too late.**

It was probably too late, and she knew it. It was going on 9:00 pm and by the time she got to his place, the game was sure to be over. She quickly turned off all of the lights, closed the hospital, and headed to her car. She checked her phone, only to be disappointed by the lack of response. She mentally berated herself for not checking her phone sooner. She contemplated driving to his house, but felt instantly uneasy about it like a teenager who had a crush. That was also the reason she decided against calling him. Instead, she headed home and figured, if nothing else, she'd go straight to bed.

Within minutes of arriving home, Dulci headed right for her en suite to remove her contacts and disrobe. Her eyes were killing her and she desperately wanted to get into sweat pants and call it a night. She thought about taking a bath when heard her phone start to ring on her bed. When she saw the caller ID, she answered it quicker than she wanted to.

"Hello?" She shook her head at her excitement to answer his call.

"You know, if you didn't want to come over, you couldn't just said so."

He sounded distant and a tad pissed off. She was unsure how to respond. She was brought back to her conversation two nights ago. Is this what Carly was talking about? Moodiness? For someone who dedicated his entirety to his profession, he should understand what happened. He had said that he admired her passion and drive as a veterinarian. He should realize that getting off later than expected comes with the territory.

"Dulci?"

"I'm so sorry, Sidney. It was a busy day and I had to deal with..."

"I'm kidding," he interrupted, and Dulci could hear the smile in his voice.

"Thank God. You sounded pretty angry," she exhaled as she laid down and got under the covers.

"So I looked at my schedule, and I think I can have my parents come down and take care of Sam in two weeks while she's recovering from the ACL surgery assuming you can fit her in. I'm going on a road trip for two weeks here shortly and won't have anyone to watch her."

This was her opportunity. She hadn't heard from Carly and wanted to know if she'd talked to him about her grievances.

"Carly can't watch her? I know she loathes animals, but she can't do you a favor?"

"Carly and I... She umm... We broke up. I'm sure you probably knew it was coming." He sounded crestfallen. It made Dulci feel terrible. She'd been there in the past and could fully empathize.

"When do you think you can do the surgery?"

She frowned a little when the conversation took a more professional turn. She wanted the playful conversation from the beginning. But wasn't exactly sure how to get it back.

"I believe I'm the surgical doctor all next week." She hoped her voice didn't sound as disappointed as she felt.

"I'll text you tomorrow when I decide."

"Ok."

"So tell me. Why was today so hellish that you stood me up?"

Wait. Was tonight supposed to be like a date? That would be absurd. He just broke up with Carly. _Breathe and go with it_, she told herself.

"How much time do you have?"

"Roughly around seven minutes before I crash due to the extensive amount of wine I've consumed by myself."

"I wouldn't have guessed you for a wine guy." She laughed. What the hell was he doing drinking wine?

"What would you have pegged me for?"

"Uhh… I'm not sure… I guess I don't know you well enough," she stuttered at his bold question.

"You're right. I'm not much of a wine guy, but Carly told me you were a wine connoisseur. I figured it would go well with the Italian take out I ordered, which is now in the refrigerator."

"I'm sorry... Again... I hope you didn't buy a really expensive bottle."

"Not at all. I got it from Mario's wine cellar."

"Is that some sort of discount wine shop or something?"

Sidney laughed, hard. It was high pitched and feminine and Dulci stifled laughter in return. He really must've had a bit too much wine.

"You really have no idea, do you?"

"No." Dulci's face was hot with embarrassment, and laughed nervously.

"Mario, as in Mario Lemieux, is the owner of the Penguins. He used to play for the team..." Sidney continued to give her a recent but brief history of the team, and while she wanted to stay up and listen, her eye kids were getting heavier and her stifled yawns were getting closer together, not to mention the distant "uh huh"s that would follow most of his statements.

"You're tired, I can tell."

"That is a gross understatement," she said through a yawn.

"We'll reschedule our game night."

"Ok. I'll try not to hold you up next time," she sleepily slurred with closed eyes.

"Goodnight, Dulci," he said through a chuckle.

"Night." And within seconds, she fell into a deep sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

A week had past and Dulci's life had gone back to normal. She hadn't heard anything from Carly since their drunken heart to heart fiasco. She had left multiple voice messages and texts but hadn't received any sort of reply. If Carly had lost her phone, she should've had a replacement at this point. Dulci couldn't help but worry that Carly was upset with her about their argument. While they came to an agreement, Dulci knew from experience that Carly would be nice to someone's face while also holding grudges. She knew that Carly was going to London soon but couldn't imagine her friend leaving without a goodbye, angry or not, even if it were only for a couple of weeks. Just incase her inkling was correct, Dulci decided she'd go to Starbucks, pick up Carly's favorite beverage, and then head over to her old apartment to see if she was home. While in line, her phone started ringing.

"Finally!"

"I know, I know! I'm sorry I've been a horrible friend! But I'm calling now," Carly reasoned.

"Christ, I thought you'd died or something," Dulci said quietly aware of the people around her.

"Nope, just busy out of my fucking mind preparing for the England Sephora openings."

"Are you too busy for a guest?"

"I'm never too busy for you, Dulci!" Carly said cheerfully.

"Good, because I'm in the process of getting us drinks at Starbucks. Where are you? At work? At home?" Dulci purposely remained ignorant. She didn't want to hint at knowing Carly was no longer part of a couple.

"I'm at my old apartment."

"Oh?" Dulci grimaced as she pretended not to know. They never hid anything from one another, and even though it was Carly's idea to break things off to begin with, Dulci knew that Carly would probably jealously fly off the deep end if she found out Sidney already told her. Dulci learned early on that she needed to pick her battles wisely with Carly.

"Some much has happened in the last week. Get here soon so I can fully divulge!"

And with that, the two hung up.

"So obviously I dumped Sid," Carly started her news after opening her apartment door.

"I figured when you told me to meet you here. Are you ok?" The two headed further into Carly's apartment and deposited themselves on her couch.

"I mean, he was surprised and upset, but it was a long time coming."

Dulci felt slightly baffled because less than a month ago, she seemed so undeniably happy with him. Dulci thought for sure that they'd get engaged in the near distant future. Then she felt bad. What if she caused the break up? What if her conversation with Carly from a few nights before persuaded Carly to end it?

"You seemed content not too long ago. You spent the summer in Canada with him."

"Correction. I spent a couple of weeks with him in Canada. I mostly spent time with his sister and parents. He was always off doing something hockey related or back here to train."

"I can't help but think I somehow contributed to your decision and I don't want you to resent me later for it," Dulci said with concern.

"Dulci, do you think that was the first time I went to a bar or club and made out with some guy to feel wanted?" Carly took Dulci's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"My decision had nothing to do with anything you've said. Although, it did make me see what I've avoided for so long."

"Is he really that bad?"

"For anyone else, probably not. You know me. I'm not going to compete for attention for long with someone or something else when it comes to a relationship. I know what I signed up for when I started seeing him, but I'm done competing with hockey, because I and every other girl he dates will compete with his profession for his affection." Carly gave her a curious look.

"Why? Are you thinking about getting to _know_ know Sid?" Carly asked with grin and shoved Dulci with her elbow.

Dulci choked on her drink a little when she heard the question. She felt her face get red and she hoped Carly couldn't read her mind and see images of her Sidney sex dream stamped into her frontal lobe.

"Carly, I wouldn't date your ex-boyfriend. And besides, I'm involved with Henry," Dulci muttered while avoiding eye contact. She never did tell Carly that her relationship with Henry was purely physical, but Carly assumed and Dulci never corrected her.

"Oh, that's right. It's a shame, though. You'd probably be perfect for Sid. He could use a girl who's fiercely independent like you. I mean, hell… he'd probably have to compete with your job for your affection the way you work all the time." Dulci looked up to see Carly staring into the distance with a mild look of sadness. Maybe she was sad about her break up even if she wouldn't ever admit to it. In the years Dulci knew Carly, she never once cried over any of her boyfriends. Dulci cried for days after her only relationship ended.

"You're independent. You're probably going to have to uproot and move to London for your job."

"Not like you. You see Henry, what, like once or twice a week and you never complain. Sid would go on trips and I's barely hear from him. There would be days that we'd be in the same house and I didn't see him because he was too busy with hockey or something."

_That's because Henry and I are friends with benefits_, Dulci thought, but responded with, "That's what works for us."

"Speaking of you're impending move, did you get your problem fixed yet?"

"Tomorrow at 10:00am. Anna is taking me."

Carly's phone started ringing and when she looked at the caller ID, she sighed.

"These conference calls will be the death of me." She picked up and started walking into her kitchen. She closed her eyes and started shaking her head in frustration before covering the receiver with her hand.

"Hopefully this won't take long," Carly whispered.

Dulci quickly got the things together and walked into the kitchen to say goodbye to Carly with a tight hug.

"You're busy. Call before you leave for London and we'll get together," Dulci said with a quiet voice so she wouldn't disturb the call. Carly waved with a sympathetic look before retreating back into her living room.

As Dulci walked across the parking lot towards her car, she heard her phone vibrating in her bag. It was Savannah.

"How was the cruise?"

"It was amazing. I'm burnt to a crisp, though…" She continued to go into detail about St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba, and Curacao, the weather, the ship, the sex with Ben, more sex with Ben, and the gifts she got.

"How was the formal hockey education?" Dulci blushed when she heard the insinuation and smile in Savannah's voice.

"Well, you'll be sad to know that it never happened. I didn't leave the hospital that night until close to nine and I thought it would be too late to go to his house."

"Umm hello? West coast games don't start until ten or later."

"Umm hello? I don't watch hockey or know it's broadcasting schedule or what channel the games come on. Therefore, I don't know when games are on," Dulci quipped sarcastically mirroring Savannah's voice.

"Besides, don't you think showing up at a guy's house after a certain time is kind of forward?"

"Dulci, he saw you completely naked. Trust me when I say he would think it was forward, but he would welcome it. If he didn't think you were attractive, he wouldn't waste his time," Savannah said matter-of-factly.

"He told me he didn't see anything," Dulci argued.

"Bullshit. He saw it all, and he liked it."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Dulci refuted.

"Let me see here. I'm going to fix this for you." Dulci could hear some typing in the background. "Schedule…" Savannah mumbled to herself.

"What are you doing?"

"A-ha! He doesn't have a game tonight."

"Ok. What does that mean?" Dulci was thoroughly confused.

"That means you take you unassuming little ass and get into your car, drive to his house to get your hockey education, and maybe something extra," Savannah said firmly.

"Savannah, I cannot show up at his house unannounced."

"What's the worse that can possibly happen? He'll tell you that he's busy and you can't come in. Not so bad in the grand scheme of things."

Dulci weighed her options. She could go home and think about what Savannah said, or she could just go to his house to see what would happen. She wasn't one who was spontaneous, but he did say they would reschedule their night. He seemed like he really wanted to spend time with her. What did she have to lose?

"Ok, I'm going to his house."

"That-a-girl! You go get him!" Savannah cheered.

"I'm going to get a formal hockey education, not fuck him. You better be around later when I'm rejected."

"You wont be. Head up, Hammett!"

"Bye Savannah."

"Oh my God, what the fuck am I doing?" Dulci exhaled as she pulled into his driveway. Her palms, back, and forehead were starting to perspire and her heart was racing.

"Its now or never." She stepped out of her car and when she closed to door and looked at the colossal house, she willed herself to get it together. Walking up the steps toward the front door, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, rubbing her palms on her jeans. She rang the doorbell, but no one answered the door. She looked back toward the driveway and noticed that his Range Rover was parked beside another equally expensive car. She opened her bag to pull out her phone to call Sidney when she heard the door open. Looking up, she saw exactly what she didn't want to see, a tall, thin blonde.

"Hi, can I help you?" The blonde asked as she opened the storm door.

"I was wondering if Sidney was around?" Dulci gulped.

"He's napping."

"Oh. Will you let him know that Dulci stopped by?"

"Sure," the blonde said with a warm smile.

"Thank you." Dulci waved and turned to walk toward her car. When she heard the door shut, she sped up to get back to her house where she wasn't putting herself or her feelings on the line.

Once she peeled out of his neighborhood, she dialed Savannah.

"You changed your mind, didn't you?"

"No. I went and the worst possible scenario happened. There was a girl there. A blonde. So I hauled ass and now I'm on my way home to eat my feelings," Dulci huffed toward the sky, blowing hair out of her face.

"I'll be there in thirty minutes with chipotle and beer."

Dulci smiled, not just because of how stupid she felt and knew she needed to find humor in the situation, but also because Savannah understood what good comfort food was. True to her word, she arrived a half an hour later with food and beer.

"Look at it this way. Whether it's his new girlfriend or a piece of ass, she'll tell him, more so to question why a hot brunette showed up to see him. Then he'll know you came around," Savannah said through her bites of her burrito bowl.

"Ugh. I'm such a fool," Dulci groaned as she leaned back on the couch. "This is exactly why I keep my arrangement with Henry. He's easy and there's no mistaking our relationship."

"Have you actually been emotionally interested in anyone since Jason?"

"Nope. Alright. I've got to go to the bathroom. Make yourself at home," Dulci tossed the remote at Savannah. When she shut the door behind her, she looked at herself in the mirror. "You know better," she whispered to herself before she splashed some cold water on her face. As she was unraveling toilet paper to finished her business, Savannah burst into the bathroom.

"JESUS CHRIST!" Dulci shrieked.

"He's calling you! Answer!" Savannah handed Dulci her phone. When she looked at the screen, she noticed that the call had already started.

"Hello?" She glared at Savannah who smiled triumphantly and shut the door.

"Hey. Taylor told me you stopped by today."

"Yeah. Umm… I just stopped by to see Sam… See how she was doing," Dulci said lamely. _I came to see you but someone beat me to the punch._

"She's good. I wanted to talk to you about her. I think I can swing her surgery for next Monday or Tuesday because we have a couple of days off. Then my parents can come take over."

"I can watch her for you, if you'd like. That way I can start her rehab and see her progress. I mean… unless you want your parents here for more reasons than Sam." She shook her head at how eager she sounded to watch Sam, especially when he didn't immediately respond.

"Actually, that would work out well. Are you sure its not going to inconvenience you at all?"

"She's no inconvenience. She's a great dog."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Dulci shifted uncomfortably when she couldn't think of anything to say to break the silence.

"So, how have you been?" Dulci perked up at the change in conversation.

"Great. Yourself?"

"Not bad. I was making lunch with Taylor earlier when she pointed out the moldy Italian food in my refrigerator."

"Seriously? You left it in there that long? That was like a week and a half ago," Dulci laughed.

"Well, I honestly thought that the girl I was supposed to entertain would've come over before it got moldy." This made Dulci giddy because she knew he was referring to their failed attempt at hanging out.

"Did you invite her to come back?" She held her breath waiting for his response.

"Not yet, but I'm going to. Listen, I've got to go. I'll talk to you soon," and hung up the phone. Dulci sat there staring at her screen. He bought that food to share with her, and now he's calling another girl. Maybe he gave up and decided to just stick to the girl he had at his house. Maybe she read the entire situation wrong. It wouldn't be a first. She placed her phone on the vanity and put her head in her hands with a loud exhale. Within seconds, her phone was ringing. It was him.

"Hello?" She was thoroughly puzzled.

"Would you like to come to my place tonight?" Dulci smiled fiercely, but she was going to keep up his charade.

"I can't."

"Oh…" He sounded disappointed.

"I'd love to but I'm actually having a friend over at my place to give me a formal hockey education. I accidently blew him off last time."

"What time is this friend coming over?" The smile was back in his voice.

"Umm.. I guess it depends on the game. He hasn't told me yet." She instantly wished she thought more before flirting with him. Of course she didn't know when the games would be on. Six? Seven? Eight? She was hopeful that she didn't sound as clueless as she felt.

"He'll probably be there around six with food."

"I think I told him to bring sushi, and a lot of it." She was hoping he got the hint.

"Sounds like fun."

"It better be. If not at lease I'll get good food out of it," she joked and got a laugh out of him.

"See ya later."

"Bye." She ran out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Savannah looked to her expectantly.

"It's 3:30, and I need you to help me tidy this place up, because he's coming over at six."

"I'm only helping you because I love you and want to hear the juicy details of the mind blowing sex you'll have."

"I'm not going to have sex with him. We're watching hockey."

"Yeah, ok. We'll reconvene in the morning at work and you can tell me all about how great he is with his mouth. This place isn't even dirty. You Virgos are OCD about cleaning…"

Dulci didn't respond, but rolled her eyes as she went to her utility closet for the vacuum.

Dulci did a quick once over when she heard a quiet knock on the door. She was wearing new dark washed jeans, a muted maroon chunky cable knit cardigan with a grey fitted tee shirt beneath. Of course, Savannah told her to wear a casual dress because it "granted easier access for him to stick it in," but Dulci figured she'd wear something that would be appropriate as if she were going to an actual game. A dress would be overkill. She also didn't want to seem like she was trying too hard, just natural. They weren't going to have sex. She barely knew him other than what Carly had told her. She couldn't sleep with her best friend's recent ex boyfriend. He was coming over to intricately explain the love of his life and eat sushi with a friend. What's the point of getting dolled up? Just in case, however, she did heed Savannah's advice to wear sexy underwear.

She briskly walked to her front door and took a quick gaze through the peephole. She always felt herself get flustered when she would first lay eyes on him, so she gave herself a bit of time to do it where he couldn't witness it. He was wearing jeans and a black and white raglan long sleeved shirt that seemed to be tight in all the right places, casual, like Dulci aimed for. After quickly composing herself, she opened her front door.

"Hi. Come in," she welcomed while scooting back to let him through. While she closed the door behind him, she noticed him taking his shoes off and footed them against the wall. Manners, she thought with a smile. She stepped in front of him and lead them toward the kitchen and living room.

"You said you wanted sushi, but I wasn't sure what kind, so I got a bit of everything, including veggie rolls incase you're a vegetarian," he rambled as he pulled out multiple boxes of sushi.

"That was thoughtful of you. I'm not a vegetarian. I love meat," Dulci explained enthusiastically before she realized the accidental euphemism. She instantly tried to correct herself, but it was too late. He heard it exactly the way Dulci did.

"You said it, not me," he chuckled as he opened the boxes. "We just need plates."

"Actually, since we'll be watching TV, I figured we could put all of the sushi on the coffee table and eat it as we please," she suggested with a shrug.

"After you let me take all of it out of the bag," he shook his head teasingly.

"Don't worry. I'll help you carry it." She took three of the six boxes and carried them into the living room, reopened them, and sat down waiting for Sidney to do the same.

"Can I get you something to drink? Water? Beer? Wine?" She asked as she grabbed a beer for herself and opened it. Without answering, he walked over to her refrigerator to take a look at the options. He cracked a smile when he saw the beer she was drinking.

"Dirty Little Freak, huh?" He said as he read the bottle, slowly rolling it in his hands.

"It's delicious, if you like dark beer. It's a coconut chocolate stout. You're welcome to try one if you'd like."

"I'll try it." He took a sip and seemed to be letting the flavor savor in his mouth.

"It's different, but good. I've never seen this before," he said examining the bottle again.

"It's from a microbrewery when I grew up. I order it and have it sent here," Dulci said as she moved back into the living room with sidney in tow.

"Ok, so how intense is this education going to be?" Dulci asked as she popped a spicy tuna roll into her mouth.

"I figured we could just watch a game and you could ask whenever you didn't understand something."

"What game are we going to watch?"

"The Washington/Winnipeg game is on tonight. We could watch that."

"Well, I'm from Maryland, so I guess that means I'll root for Washington." She looked back toward her television as the pre-game started. She noticed he wasn't eating any rolls, and when she went to look at him, he was staring at her.

"What?" Dulci asked nervously.

"I cannot let you root for Washington," sidney replied with a dead pan look.

"Why not? I literally lived forty minutes outside of DC growing up."

"Because there's a heated division rivalry there. I can't let you root for them."

"Hmm. This is going to be fun. I'm evening wearing Washington's colors ," Dulci said through a mischievous smile, pointing at her clothes.

"I liked what you were wearing until you said that," he retorted with mock disgust.

(Then why don't you take them off of me?) she thought but quickly turned toward the TV again. No sex.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, peacefully eating their rolls while watching TV when sports center ran Alexander Ovechkin's top ten highlight reel.

"He must be pretty good if he's got a highlight reel," Dulci said cluelessly.

"He's good. A show off, but good. We get compared often."

Dulci just nodded in reply. The more of the highlight reel she watched, the bigger the gawking expression on her face grew. Highlight number three, the self-rebound from the boards and breakaway goal, made Dulci get goose bumps, and as she rubbed her arms, she turned to Sidney.

"Have you ever done that?" Dulci asked in amazement. Sidney responded by rolling his eyes.

"See. He is why I'm a Washington fan," she teased.

"For now, until I can convince you otherwise," he said glancing at her giving her a crooked smile.

Throughout the game, Dulci would pick up on certain things the commentators would say and ask for their meaning. She struggled with icing, and Sidney, in an attempt to fully explain it, grabbed her dry erase board from her refrigerator and drew out the rink fully equipped with lines and goal posts. Giving her a black marker, he grabbed her hand and placed it next to one goal post. She noticed his hands were rough, but warm, like he'd used them for manual labor for years, and when she thought about it, he had. He took a green marker and placed it next to her black marker.

"Ok. So team Dulci is defending her own half of the rink," he takes her hand and draws a circle around "her half if the ice. "Team Sid is trying to score. But if a player on team Dulci shoots, dumps, or deflects the puck past team Sid's goal line," he takes her hand again and draws an arrow over the opposing goal line, "then it's icing, unless a player from team Sid touched it. Make more sense?"

"A little. I think I need to see it more before I can really understand it."

A couple of minutes later, Dulci excused herself, leaving Sidney alone in her living room. He continued to watch the game for a few minutes until he got thirsty and went to grab a bottle of water from her fridge. While he was there, he was interrupted by her cellphone ringing on the kitchen counter.

_Last night / Our lover's quarrel / I was think about you / Heard more than I can say / And it was kind of dirty / All night / And the way that you looked at me / Help me here / It was kind of nasty / Help me here / It was kind of trashy / Cause I can't help my mind from going there / Heard your boyfriend was away this weekend / Wanna meet at my place / Heard we both got nothing to do / When I lay in bed I touch myself and think of you._

He'd never heard the song before, which wasn't surprising considering the only pop music he listened to was in Carly's company. He scooted closer to the phone to see that the caller ID said Henry. He vaguely remembered Carly talking about how she was offended that Dulci never introduced Carly to her boyfriend Henry. Sidney heard a door shut from down the hall and figured Dulci was coming, so, in an attempt to look less conspicuous, he quickly exited the kitchen and sat back on the couch.

"Did I miss anything? Did my team score?"

When Sidney looked toward her, he noticed she was wearing glasses and had pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. All he could think about was the lyrics to Henry's ringtone, those glasses, and the fact that she looked like she could play the role of a naughty veterinarian, especially if she pulled out her toys.

"The score is still the same," he said clearing his throat. "You missed a call, though."

"Crap. I hope it wasn't someone from the hospital. I'm technically on standby tonight." Dulci walked into the kitchen and looked at her phone. Her stomach dropped when she saw that Henry called. He wanted to come over, and for the first time in months, Dulci didn't want him to. Then she remembered what his ringtone was and she prayed to God that the phone was on vibrate when it starting ringing again. It was the first verse and bridge from Lady Gaga's "Sexxx Dreams".

"He's not important," she said as she hit ignore, switch the phone to vibrate, and walked back toward Sidney.

"I should probably go," he said uncomfortably rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh… ok." Dulci stood in front of him, shifting from foot to foot trying to find a way to get back to the mild flirting from earlier.

"I mean, it would be weird if your boyfriend showed up and…"

"He's not my boyfriend," Dulci interrupted. She wanted to make it clear that Henry, while they were friends with benefits, was not by any means her boyfriend.

"But, if you think you should go, I would.."

"No. I'll stay." It was his turn to interrupt her. The two awkwardly sat back down. Before long, they fell back into the same ease as the beginning of the night. They game had ended with Washington winning. When Dulci was channel surfing, she landed on Silence of the Lambs.

"I've never seen this movie before," Sidney said as he rotated on the couch to get more comfortable.

"Seriously? This is a classic! Such a good movie."

"Is it in your top ten?"

"Are you kidding? It's in my top five, possibly top three. Get comfortable because once you start watching, you won't want to stop," she said excitedly. Sidney laughed at her enthusiasm.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Sidney looked over to find Dulci asleep with her head on the armrest of the couch. While he was enjoying the movie, he knew he couldn't continue watching it while she slept. He turned the TV off and tried to wake her. When she wouldn't budge, he scooped her up and carried her into her bedroom. Since it was difficult for him to hold her and push the comforter back, he laid her on top and covered her with the throw blanket from her couch. He quietly exited her house, trying to avoid waking her, and after walking to his car, sent her a text before driving home.

Dulci woke up confused. She remembered falling asleep on the couch watching Silence of the Lambs with Sidney, but now she was drenched in sweat on her bed, still wearing the same clothes, with the throw blanket from the couch. He must've brought her to bed. She got up, changed into pajamas, and walked to the kitchen to find her phone before crawling tiredly back into bed. Upon awaking her phone, she saw a text from Sidney waiting for her.

**I must've been a bore because you fell asleep on me. ;-)**

She looked at the time and saw it was close to four in the morning. She knew he was sleeping but sent a reply anyway.

**That hockey shit is kind of boring. That and I don't get to nap in the middle of the day like you. ;-)**

Happy with her response, she set her alarm and quickly fell back to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**How'd you know I was napping?**

Dulci was blow-drying her hair when received the text from Sidney the next morning. She couldn't hear the notification because of the white noise of the blow dryer. When the second text came across, she only noticed because she could see her phone light up through her peripheral vision. She picked up her phone and read the first text and laughed when she read the second.

**Are you stalking me?**

Turning her blow dryer off and placing it on the bathroom vanity, she responded to the text. She thought about responding with, "you wish," but wasn't sure if it was too flirty for 6:30am. Instead, she replied:

**Your blonde friend told me you were napping. You must have a thing for blondes.**

She put her phone down and continued with her hair. Once her hair was done, she pulled the face-framing layers back to start her makeup routine. Half way through blending her foundation, her phone pinged.

**That was my sister, Taylor. I don't have a thing for blondes. I do, however, have a small thing for beautiful, intelligent women.**

She sighed. Of course he liked beautiful women. What wealthy athlete didn't? They could have their pick of women. She knew she was pretty, but she wasn't beautiful like Carly with a perfect symmetrical face and high cheekbones. She silently wished that he was talking about her, but brushed the thought away.

**And I'm sure they're all lined up waiting for you with bells, whistles, and skimpy underwear.**

She was in the process of putting on mascara when he texted back.

**Maybe, but the one I'm interested in stood me up one night.**

Ok. Maybe he was talking about her. She didn't stand him up, though. She was working late and tried to contact him. She was hoping he was teasing and replied:

**I'm sure she made it up to you somehow?**

Dulci was in her closet picking out a work appropriate outfit when she heard her phone ring on her bed. She was running behind because of the messaging. She needed to do laundry so opted for a matching set of navy blue scrubs. Her boss preferred her to wear scrubs, but she felt more professional wearing business causal clothing under her lab coat. Opening a box her mother sent her recently, she figured she'd try out her new five-finger shoes to see what the hype was about.

Pouring coffee into her Virginia Tech tumbler, she finally glanced at her phone to read the response.

**She did until she fell asleep twenty minutes into one of her top three movies. She must not be interested.**

She couldn't wipe the grin off of her face to save her life. She saw that she was still running late so she grabbed a lean cuisine, a banana, coffee and left the house. When she arrived at the hospital, her first appointment was in the process of being started by Alyssa. She quickly but her stuff on her desk before pulling out her phone and making her last text response for the morning:

**Maybe she wasn't sure that you were interested? Perhaps you should make it more obvious?**

"Dr. Hammett, your first appointment is ready."

Dulci put her phone on her desk, grabbed her stethoscope, and started her first appointment.

At noon, Dulci was writing up charts when Savannah brought a chart into the doctor's office for Dr. King.

"Jesus Christ! What does this lady want? I've talked to her so many god damned times and she doesn't get her dog is dying!" She went to grab the chart from Savannah's hand, but savannah snatched it back.

"Actually, she wanted to speak to Dr. Hammett."

Dr. King looked surprised before asking Savannah why she would ask for Dulci instead of the doctor she'd been seeing.

"I'm not sure. I have a feeling it has something to do with wanting to speak to a veterinarian with a better bedside manner," Savannah said dryly with a cold smile.

"There is an appointment in a room, though."

Dr. King must've taken Savannah's hint because she quickly stood from her desk and walked hotly toward the exam rooms.

"Did she really ask to speak to me?" Dulci asked looking in the chart.

"Not exactly, but she did ask to speak to a doctor who wasn't a bitch."

"I'll call her when I'm done with this chart. Do you mind taking some charts with you when you go back to the front?"

"Sure. Oh! I almost forgot. This came for you today," savannah handled her a manila envelope with "Dulci" written on the front.

"Hmm. Was it from a client?" Dulci asked breaking the seal.

"I don't think so. A young blonde girl dropped it off. I've never seen here before," Savannah shrugged before turning to go back toward the front desk.

Dulci pulled out a folded piece of paper that was taped together. When she broke the tape, two tickets fell onto her desk. She picked them up to see they were hockey tickets for the Penguins game that night. She opened the paper to see it was a letter with a short message:

I'm interested. How's that for obvious?

-Sid

Without a hesitation, she picked up the message and tickets and ran to the front desk. She waited patiently for Savannah to finish helping a client, trying to hide her excitement by rearranging the request tags.

"So what was in the envelope?" Savannah asked as she wrote the interaction in the chart. Dulci didn't wait for her to turn around and dropped the letter and tickets in front of her. Savannah looked at the tickets and back to Dulci with wide eyes.

"Please tell me you're free tonight?" She begged Savannah.

"Duh!" Savannah then read the message. "I told you he wanted you," she said folding the letter and returned it to Dulci.

"I need to find something to wear. I have plenty of black. They wear black, right? Do you think that will suffice?"

"My shift is done in forty-five minutes. I'll go buy you something pens related to wear."

"I need to run home and get some jeans. You'll meet me here at 6:30?" Dulci asked.

"Sure will! I can't wait to see you at the game," Savannah teased Dulci and she walked back toward the doctor's office.

"Dulci, these seats are in the first row. They're on the glass!" Savannah exclaimed as she studied her ticket. They were having a drink at a bar next to Consol Energy Center, mostly for Dulci's anxiety. She kept staring at Savannah's black and orange shirt and completely ignored Savannah's excitement.

"Why are you wearing that?" Dulci asked pointing to the Flyers emblem on Savannah's shirt.

"I'll be damned if I wear penguin shit even if I'm going to one of their games. I'm a Flyers fan!" Savannah didn't realize the amount of glares and comments she got from the people around them. That or she didn't care and Dulci couldn't decide which it was.

"Are you going to get us beat up?" Dulci asked as she looked around at those who were staring.

"No. We should probably pay our tab though, warm ups going to start soon," Savannah said while she waved down the bartender.

"And you'll get to eye fuck Crosby before he plays," she whispered to Dulci.

"Maybe he'll score you a goal," Savannah finished with a wink after she handed her credit card over.

The two walked into the arena and down to their seats where fans were waiting for the players to warm up. Dulci looked around in astonishment at all of the female fans wearing Crosby shirts and jerseys. She also noticed a select few other names that seemed to stand our: Neal, Malkin, Fleury, and Letang. She pulled out her cellphone and search google for the Penguins player roster to look up other players. She didn't realize Savannah was looking over her shoulder.

"He's probably the only one I like," Savannah said when Dulci pulled up Kris Letang's roster photo.

"Wow. He's hot but in a filthy-I'm-going-to-tie-you-up-and-fuck-you kind of way," Dulci looked closer at the picture.

"Dulci, they're coming out!" Savannah yelled nudging her friend. When Dulci looked up to the jumbotron where Savannah was pointing, she saw the players coming toward the ice and within seconds, they were skating around half of the ice while the other team, Columbus, warned up on the opposite end. Dulci felt like a kid in a car, trying to look at all objects as they fly by on the opposite side of glass. She tried to see all of the players as they skated by. Then, she saw him, stretching his legs and groin across the ice. She couldn't look at anyone else. After his stretching, he did some puck work and then skated around before stopping to re-lace his skates.

"I've taken about a thousand pictures of you watching him," Savannah interrupted Dulci from her daze.

"He's mesmerizing..." She said breathily. Looking toward Savannah, who was taking pictures, Dulci asked, "Why haven't you told me about all of this sooner?" as she gestured around the arena with her hands. Dulci didn't realize how much she would enjoy a hockey arena. She loved the chill from the ice, the buzz of the crowd, watching the players warm up. It was all very exhilarating.

"Look up, look up!"

When Dulci looked up, she was met by Sidney slowly skating by with a smile on his face. She knew she looked ridiculous, but with the excitement of the warm up, the proximity of she and Savannah to the glass, and Sidney subtly smiling at her, she smiled with her whole face and laughed when Savannah poked fun at her.

After the game, Savannah dropped Dulci off at the hospital. She quickly ran in and grabbed seven charts that needed to be documented. She knew she wasn't supposed to leave the hospital with medical records, but she wanted to go home and relax as it was approaching 10pm and she had an early morning the next day. Once she was comfortable in her pajamas in her living room, she set up her charts on the coffee table and sat between that and the couch to start writing.

She woke up to her phone ringing. She had fallen asleep with her head on her arm, which was stretched across the table. Quickly wiping her eyes, she grabbed the phone and answered.

"Hello?"

"Did I wake you?" It was Sidney.

"Sort of. I was taking a break from writing in charts when I guess I dozed off," she yawned.

"Go back to sleep. I'm sorry to wake you."

"No, really, it's ok. I need to get these charts done."

"Well in that case, can I come in?" If Dulci was half asleep, at that moment, she was fully awake.

"You're here?" Her voice was a few octaves hire than it usually is as she stood and walked toward the door.

"Yeah, I knocked but you didn't answer, so I got into my truck and called you."

She opened the door as he was walking across her lawn toward her porch. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw him.

"Thank you for the tickets. I had a great time," she stammered once she found her voice.

She stepped out of the way for Sidney to come in, but he entered only as far into the house as possible for her to shut the door.

"I'm glad you came," he said with a crooked smile.

"Listen, I can't stay long but I wanted to invite you to my place for dinner tomorrow evening around 8?"

Dulci felt her face drop as she thought about her schedule.

"I'd love to, but I can't do tomorrow night. I'm working from four to midnight," she said with an apologetic and disappointed look.

"What about lunch?"

"That would work. Should I come over to your place?"

"I'll pick you up here at around noon. We'll go out somewhere," he proposed with a smile.

"Sounds great." Dulci nodded with approval and delight.

"Would you like to come in for a drink?" She asked pointing toward the kitchen. She felt foolish asking if he'd like to come in considering he was inside already, but he hadn't budged from the doorway.

"I can't. I'm late for a celebratory team dinner tonight."

She found herself frowning again for the second time in a couple of minutes. Their schedules definitely seemed to conflict a little.

"Oh, ok. Well have fun." She tried to smile at him to hide her discontent. She looked down toward her feet trying to hide it when she saw him move toward her out of the corner of her eye. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and lingering close to her ear he whispered, "See you tomorrow."

He opened the door and turned to walk out, but before he shut the door, he reminded her, "Go finish your charts."

She couldn't speak, so instead she nodded her head. Even after he left, her legs felt heavy like she was rooted to the floor. She lightly touched her cheek and wondered what those lips would feel like elsewhere. Finally, she walked back into her living room to finish documenting.


	10. Chapter 10

"Focus and go! Focus and go! Push! Look into my eyes and focus!"

"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Dulci huffed at her television. She was twenty-five minutes into Insanity and she was irritated at the sound of Shaun T's voice. Her morning had been one from hell.

When she woke up at 6:30, she threw on some clothes and drove to the hospital to drop off her finished charts. By the time she arrived at 7, the office manager and owner were talking quietly in the office. She quickly put her charts on her desk but as she was leaving, Marty, the office manager, stopped her.

"Dulci, Dr. Harrison and I need to speak to you. Please, have a seat."

"Will this take long, I actually have an important doctors appointment at 8:30 this morning," Dulci sat in her desk chair.

"This won't take long. Last night, Dr. King saw one of your patients from yesterday on emergency. The problem is that the patient's chart was nowhere to be found. It was brought to our attention that you've been taking charts home to finish and that is unacceptable. It's a liability issue." Dulci shook her head in understanding.

"What's worse is that the patient obviously needed radiographs. The client claimed that it was never offered to her to start." Dr. Harrison gave her a stern look.

"I'm assuming you're referring to the back patient? I told the client I was worried about a disc issue or Spondylosis. She declined x-rays due to cost." She wanted to tell them that it would be easier to get people to commit to diagnostics if the cost was more reasonable.

"I believe you, Dulci. However, it's hard for Dr. King to cover for you when she doesn't have your exam to consult," Dr. Harrison shrugged. "You're a great doctor, Dulci, but we have to function as a team, and taking your charts out of the hospital causes problems for other doctors and for us."

"I understand. It won't happen again. Last night I have some extenuating circumstances that I had to attend to. I thought it would be better to finish them at home instead of leaving them undocumented," Dulci said in the most professional, yet closed off voice she could muster. "Am I free to go?"

"Actually, I really quickly wanted to go over your numbers for the month."

She felt like screaming, "What the fuck part of 'I have a doctors appointment' don't you understand?", but pushed her irritation aside to talk about the least favorite part of her job, the profit for her money hungry boss.

"Based on the month of October, it looks like you've brought in quite a lot, but your average invoice is the lowest of all of the associates."

As she listened, she felt herself having to bite her tongue more and more. She could only push as much as the clients could afford. Her hands were often tied because people couldn't afford proper diagnostics.

"Three! Two! One! Basketball drills! Go!"

It was probably the best Insanity workout she'd ever done because she was so upset. She tried to help people and their pets as much as possible. She remembered her mentor telling her that eighty percent of veterinary work is teaching the clients and twenty percent is treating the pets. Without explaining the importance of a treatment plan, people won't understand. What was really frustrating was that Dulci would have her clients ok board, but so many of them couldn't afford the diagnostics. She was a workhorse, seeing patients sick or well without a problem. Where other doctors asked staff members to call clients, Dulci took the time to call every client because it created better doctor/client relationships. Her efforts paid off because in the two years she'd been there, she'd created a hefty clientele of her own.

After the cool down, she collapsed onto her couch. She was both mentally and physically exhausted and it was only 9:30am. She figured she would just lie there for a few minutes before she got up to get ready.

She was awoken by a tickling sensation, as if someone's fingers were gently caressing her abdomen starting from just below her breasts, down her rib cage, and further toward her hips. It felt exquisite. She couldn't remember the last time Henry touched her like that. When she touched his hands, she knew instantly that it wasn't Henry. These hands were bigger and calloused, well weathered and broken in. She couldn't open her eyes. She just enjoyed the pleasure. When she felt lips on her stomach, again she knew it was someone else. Henry had nice firm lips. These lips were plumb. She was able to open her eyes enough to see a man slinking his way down her abdomen. He was shirtless, another indicator that it wasn't Henry. While he worked out, he wasn't jacked like the man doing a number on her. He had short wavy brown hair, the kind that would feel amazing to run a hand through, and she did just that. As soon as her hand contacted his head, he looked up with a dark smile.

"What are you doing?" Dulci asked with a bewildered and breathy voice. It's not that she didn't want him sexually, but there was so much they hadn't done. Her inquiry was pointless as he started to slowly pull her compression shorts down, starting to expose her hip and pelvic bone.

"Wait, you may not want to do that. I need to shower, I just got done working out," she tried to reason. He was painstakingly close to her crotch and she was terrified because of the sweat. At this point the shorts were around her knees, and when she tried to move her body, she couldn't. It was as if she was paralyzed on her couch. He placed a kiss right below her belly button while kneading and caressing her thighs, and didn't stop there. The kisses continued to go south. She held her breath when he kissed her underwear covered pelvic bone. He hands came to her hips again, this time slowly pulling her underwear down.

"I know this isn't the time to chat, but you haven't given me a proper kiss and you're eager to do that?" Her words were shaky and useless. It was if he didn't hear her. He sat up to finish pulling her shorts and underwear off of her legs. He reached behind him to grab a couch pillow and after lifting her pelvis off of the couch, he placed the pillow under her butt to lift her lower half up. When he knelt back down above her, he slowly parted her legs at the knees and trailed his hands up the inside of her thighs. Once she was fully spread and exposed on her couch, he restarted kissing her down her lower abdomen. She was almost panting with anticipation.

"Nobody has ever done this before." It was her meager last ditch effort to stop him, but as his mouth touched her vagina, she forgot all of her hang-ups. He started by kissing her clitoris, and it took everything she had not to cry out, out of pleasure and sheer embarrassment. He held her legs down as he continued licking her clitoris, up and down, side to side, and in circular motions. It started slow but built in speed. Her legs started to quiver, both due to the muscle exhaustion from the workout and because of the pleasure. His mouth went from licking to slowly sucking in the same patterns as before, which felt better. While she felt paralyzed, she found herself lightly pushing her hips into his mouth. After switching back to the licking, he read her body like a book and started sucking her clitoris again, earning a loud breath. Then, he started to quickly shake his head from side to side as his mouth was still latched on. She moaned loud and long. If he continued, she'd come. And he continued, adding a hum, which intensified the feeling like a vibration. Her butt was no longer on the pillow as she pushed her vagina as close to his mouth as possible. Suddenly, she felt like she was falling.

Dulci woke up as she hit the floor. As she looked around to gage her surroundings, she noticed her hand was in her short, and she was aroused. After removing her hand, she rubbed her forehead with her other hand and got up from the floor. As she was walking toward her bathroom, there was a knock at her door. Looking through the peephole, Sidney was standing on the other side of her door. She couldn't open the door, she was only wearing a sports bra and compression shorts. She looked at her watch. It was 11:45. She slapped her forehead as she remembered they were supposed to meet at noon. Then she remembered. He already saw all of her bits and pieces, and given where they were now, the thought made her blush, especially given her recent sex dream.

She opened the door, hoping she didn't look as flustered and fully aroused as she felt.

"I'm so sorry. I know I'm behind. I worked myself out too hard earlier and fell asleep on the couch and I still obviously need to shower and get ready." She tried to stop the word vomit but it kept going. She looked into his eyes and quickly looked away. Between the thoughts of his mouth and tongue, she felt her face get even hotter. She felt her nipples getting hard through the thin fabric of the sports bra and quickly crossed her arms to hide them.

"You sleep a lot."

Dulci looked up at him perplexed. Out of all she just said, that's how he responded.

"That's rich coming from the guy that naps," she quipped realizing he was teasing with her.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll try to shower quickly." She shut the door behind him and moved into her room shitting the door. Part of her wanted to leave it open, like an invitation, to find out if he was as good with his mouth as she dreamt.

"Is everything ok?"

Dulci was pulled out of her thoughts. They had been waiting on their food. Sidney had taken her to an upscale Mexican restaurant where they sat secluded from the rest of the patrons

"Yeah. Just thinking," she said dipping a chip in some salsa.

"About?" He seemed interested in her thought.

"I wish I could open my own veterinary clinic. That way I wouldn't have to work under someone else's scrutiny." She felt like she sounded jaded, and since they were on a possible date, she didn't want to sound depressed.

"It's just that, when I dropped my charts off this morning, my boss, who is never at the hospital before ten, was sitting in the office. He stopped me, chided me like a child about how irresponsible and unprofessional it was of me to take my charts out of the hospital. One of my patients from yesterday returned last night and the chart was with me so the other doctor couldn't reference my notes. I understand their problem and I know better than to take records out if the hospital, but I feel like I work my ass off for that place and get little in return." It felt good to get it off of her chest, even if he couldn't directly sympathize.

"And, they tell me that while I bring in the most money, I'm also the one with the lowest average invoice price. I hate money." She exhaled, finally able to stop compartmentalizing her feelings. At the same time, she realized that Sidney was technically a client of their hospital, and complaining about management was unprofessional.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't complain to you. It's not appropriate."

"It's good to vent. Can I ask you a question?", he asked taking an entire chip into his mouth.

"You just did," she responded with the first smile of the day, sipping her water.

"Funny. Why did you take the charts home?"

"Because I would've missed the game if I had stayed to write."

"So you risked getting in trouble to see me play?", he asked with a goofy grin. Dulci was taken away by that smile, so she just nodded yes.

"Second question. If you want to open your own clinic, why don't you?"

Dulci laughed out loud. Sidney gave her a puzzled look in return.

"It's a dream of mine. Like I said, I'd like to practice medicine without someone looking over my records or my monthly financial intake. I've always wanted to open an orthopedic/rehab facility because it's my specialty. I'd love to have a pool for rehabbing patients. I'd also try and make it as affordable as possible for people." She stopped eating her taco salad when she noticed Sidney looking at her.

"What?" She felt like an ant under a magnifying glass at his gaze.

"It's your passion and drive. Seeing someone do and talk about something they're passionate about is pretty incredible."

"I know what you mean. Watching you hockey players do what you're passionate about is a huge turn on."

"Hockey players, or me?"

Dulci choked on her water at how blunt his question was, causing him to laugh.

"What was your favorite part of the game?"

"Oh man, it's hard to pinpoint. I love how fast it is, and intense. It's also really physical, which I guess I took for granted when I watched with you and Savannah. The crowd. The crowd is crazy. You have a rather large female fan base, by the way. I'm sure you're already aware. I'm sure you'd never have to worry about being alone. Those girls have hungry eyes." Dulci subtly smiled as she thought about her own hungry eyes, or as Savannah eloquently put it, eye fucking him.

They continued talking about their childhoods and their basic interests. Sidney talked about growing up in the public eye. Dulci talked about going to England almost every summer to see her maternal grandparents. She told him about college life and graduate school, meeting Carly and how their friendship grew from tutoring. Compared to his stories, hers sounded boring, but he asked questions to push her along.

Before long, they were back in his SUV driving back to her place. Once they pulled into her driveway, they both got out and walked to the door. She opened her door, laughing about something he said.

"Thank you for lunch. It was delicious."

"Thank you for going to lunch with me. I'll let you get ready for work," he said looking at his expensive watch, aware that she needed to be to work by four. He leaned in to kiss her cheek, but when he started to pull back, they both lingered, cheeks almost touching, both feeling the current between them, and without another beat, He moved his lips to her mouth in a heated kiss, which started out slow, but quickly intensified. Dulci's senses were fully assaulted. His soft but skilled lips made her weak in the knees. She felt his hands leave her shoulders, travel down the length of her arms, and around her waist as she clung to his shirt with one hand. The other wrapped around his neck, leaning in and pulling him as close to her body as possible. She was grateful for the peppermints they both took from the restaurant. Between that, the aphrodisiac of an aftershave she smelt on his face, and the memory of her dream, she wanted him, and her quiet unintentional moans was all the confirmation he needed to push her gently into her house to take it further, kicking her door shut behind them.


	11. Chapter 11

The movement backward continued until Dulci felt something hard dig against the back of her thighs. The momentum of the backward motion and surprise of the harsh contact made Dulci's leg buckle, and as she let go of Sidney's shirt to grab the entry table to buffer her loss of balance, she only felt him embrace her tighter against his chest as if to assure her that he wouldn't let her fall. Without a beat, he gently lifted on of her legs over the lip of the entry table. The cold surface against her backside and legs contrasted against the warmth of his hands caused her to lightly gasp into his mouth. Taking her quiet gasps and moans as permission, he continued lifting her other leg until she was sitting on the flimsy entry table with the hem of her dress bunched around her hips, slightly revealing her cobalt blue laced underwear.

She was in a state of pure ecstasy. His lips seemed to know exactly how to kiss hers. He knew when to soften the kiss and when to build up the intensity. He used the perfect amount of tongue to gentle and sensually massage hers. He knew when to suck her bottom and top lips and when to use his teeth to gently pull them. She barely noticed him slowly unzipping her dress accept for the chilled air hitting the exposed skin of her back. As he continued unzipping, he moved his other hand from the small of her back, grazing up toward her shoulders and continued until his hand was fully emerged in her hair. With a gentle tug, he pulled her head back to give him better access. He moved from her lips down over her chin, lightly biting and sucking as he traveled down further to her neck. Her hands clutched to his shoulders both for support and to urge him on. As he finished unzipping her dress, his hand caressed up her naked back all the way to her shoulder, gently pulling the sleeve down her arm, exposing her shoulder and bra strap. Once her arm was out of the sleeve, the other shoulder and sleeve started to fall but caught at her elbow. With his hand still tangled in her hair, he tugged her head back even further to expose her décolletage and cleavage. As he was pulling her head backward, kissing and sucking non-rhythmically down her clavicle and cleavage, she reached out again to grab the edge of the table for support and knocked the lamp off the table. It didn't matter. Dulci's house could've caught fire and she wouldn't have known because she could only focus on Sidney and their raw desire.

In one swift motion, he let go of her hair, picked her up off the entry table, wrapping her legs around his hips, and carried her around the corner into her bedroom, never breaking his assault on her mouth. He gently placed her in the middle of her bed and slowly lowered himself to hover over her. He removed the other sleeve of her dress and pushed it down toward her stomach. He was thankful that she wore that particular bra, not just because it was lace and left nothing to the imagination, but also because it clasped in the front. With quick fingers, the clasp was undone, and he slowly pushed the thin material out if his way as his hand caressed her left breast, eventually narrowing his caresses solely on her hard nipple, flicking it with his thumb like a joystick. She moaned loudly as the sensation sent currents of pleasure toward her pussy. Dulci snaked her hands, which had been gripping his upper arms, down his back. Once she had hold of the bottom on his shirt, she pulled it up and over his head, momentarily breaking their kiss. He took the opportunity to move his mouth to her other breast and ever so lightly took her nipple in his mouth, switching between sucking and licking with the occasional gentle tug of his teeth. Dulci took her hands between the front of them and started unbuckling his belt.

"Fuck me," Dulci whispered into his ear as he kissed his way back up her cleavage to neck. When he heard her demand, the way she huskily whispered into his ear full of lust and passion, he groaned. She wanted him. He wanted her, and he was going to fuck her.

After ripping the belt off of his hips, she moved to undo his pants, her hands shaking with anticipation, and slowly moved her hand under the elastic of his briefs. Sidney wouldn't have lasted had Dulci touched him, so he quickly intercepted her hand and moved off of the bed.

The way Dulci looked lying half naked, her dress bunched around her abdomen, breathing heavily with swollen lips and hungry eyes as she watched his movements, made Sidney's dick even harder. He deftly removed his pants and underwear, and when he looked toward Dulci, her cheeks and chest blushed red as she let her eyes roam his fully exposed body. Climbing back on her bed, he slid her underwear off of her legs, and without a moment's hesitation he quickly slid into her. Letting his head fall into the crook of her neck, he moaned loudly.

Dulci yelped out of surprise and discomfort. There was no foreplay. While the kissing got her worked up, she needed more. She was also confused. Their kissing and groping had been perfect, full of want and passion. He was doing everything right to get her on her way to being fully aroused. Now he was slowly rocking into her and the fire and urgency of their steamy make out session disappeared. What he was doing wasn't bad, but Dulci expected them to still be in the throws of passion, fighting to be the first to give the other explosive orgasms, especially given that he was aware of her specific preferences.

Sidney instantly noticed something had changed. Their bodies had lost the fluidity and connection of their earlier passion. When he looked at her, her eyes were closed with a perplexed look on her face. He worried that she was regretting her decision to be with him. One moment she was begging him to fuck her, and now she seemed distant, like she was more consumed in her head than in reality. He kissed her deeply, trying to bring her back into their moment. Sidney felt better as she opened more to him, one hand exploring the expanses of his back while the other urged him on by gripping his ass. She still seemed distracted, and even worse, she was quiet. Flipping them both over so he could watch her on top, he was awarded with a quiet moan as she sank fully on his erection.

With both hands using his chest as leverage, Dulci started bouncing on his dick with a rhythm that she knew would satisfy them both. She loved the feeling of his hands caressing her thighs and ass as she rode him, the way he looked with his eyes closed and mouth ajar, grunting and groaning as she worked them both. When she knew she was close enough to help herself along, she brought one of her hands to her clitoris and began rubbing. She imagined what it would be like if he tied her up and fucked her, and the idea of Sidney binding her arms to their respective leg so that she was spread eagle, obscenities pouring out of his mouth as he pounded her, had Dulci quivering with pleasure. Before she could get there, Sidney grabbed her hips and threw his head back into the pillows, holding her as he let himself pour into her. Every muscle in his body clenched as he groaned through his orgasm. Once he was done, he sat up, wrapped his arms around Dulci and breathed heavily into her chest.

"So, how was the lunch date?" Savannah inquired as she and Dulci sat down for margarita's two days later.

"It was nice. We talked about working at the hospital, how I enjoyed the game, my favorite parts, our childhoods, you know. The usual first date conversation," Dulci shrugged as she took a sip of her drink. When she looked at Savannah, she knew she was in for it by the unconvinced look on her face.

"Why are you shrugging? You've only been internally gushing about him for weeks. Let me guess, he's way too into himself."

"I was shrugging because we had a normal first date and it was lovely," Dulci insisted.

"Did he kiss you after? He better know how to kiss with those lips," Savannah gazed into the distance, her chin in her hand.

Dulci flushed at the memory of his lips. The way they felt so soft and warm, the way they felt on her skin and the way they attached to her nipple.

"Ohh. So he is a good kisser. Good for you! Was it a quick chaste kiss, or a long juicy one?" Dulci had to chuckle at Savannah. She was hanging on everything Dulci said.

"I think I would describe it as steamy. He backed me into the house, kicked the door shut, or so I assume, and backed me into my entry table, sat me on top of it, all while kissing me like his life depended on it." Dulci took the drink menu out of its holder and started fanning herself off.

"Savannah, those lips were made for kissing."

"So you were making out on your entry table… Please tell me you fucked him," Savannah egged her on, hoping that there was more to tell. Dulci tried not to give it away. She just shook her head no and looked away, taking a large sip of margarita, hoping that Savannah would drop it.

"You fucked him. Lets just get it out on the table. Now, I need to know, was it any good?"

"It was good," Dulci said unpersuasively.

"So the Golden Boy is bad in bed?" Savannah asked in disbelief.

"Ok. First of all, it was not bad. Second of all, who the fuck is the Golden Boy?"

"Did you come?" Dulci was taken aback by how blunt Savannah's question was.

"Not quite, but it wasn't bad." At this point, Dulci wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more, Savannah or herself.

"If you didn't come, then it was bad sex," Savannah said matter-of-factly.

"No. It was fine. He was fine. Its just…"

"He came too quickly?" Savannah interrupted.

"Jesus. Would you let me talk?" Savannah nodded with an amused, yet apologetic look.

"The beginning was amazing. He literally started undressing me on the entry table. I've never felt so wanted and sexy in my life. Not even with Henry. We couldn't get enough of each other. He carried me into my bedroom and continued to undress me while kissing and touching all the right places. The strange thing is that he totally skipped any real foreplay. He took his pants off and put it in. When he started thrusting, it was slow, more like love making than raw passionate sex. I guess I expected a throw down. When he flipped us, I started to get into it, but when I was about to come, he beat me to it." When Dulci looked at her friend, all she saw on Savannah's face was sympathy.

"Maybe he was nervous? Maybe watching you on top was too much for him?" Savannah offered trying to make Dulci feel better about her less than satisfying sex.

"I'm not worried about it. Sex is usually awkward the first time with someone new. It'll get better," Dulci said enthusiastically before frowning.

"Oh my God, Savannah. What if it doesn't get better?"

"You'll teach him what you like. It'll get better. Hell, when I first met Ben, he didn't even know what a g-spot was or how to get a girl off..."

As Savannah told Dulci about her terrible first times with various men, Dulci swallowed hard as she realized that not all men enjoy women who liked rough sex. Before Henry, she had mediocre sex with Jason, her boyfriend and only other sexual partner. But Henry opened her eyes to something spectacular, and she wasn't sure if she could relish in regular sex anymore.

"Hey man. It's Sid. Give me a call when you get this."

Sidney sat on his couch after an intense practice and workout. The team was on a three-day break and he needed a drink. Although it had been two days, Sidney couldn't stop thinking about his date and sex with Dulci. He went over their actions over and over and couldn't figure out where he went wrong. And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. The problem was, he needed to talk to someone well versed in kinky sex, and decided to call James for advice. After he grabbed a beer from his refrigerator, he sat back on his couch and opened his laptop. As if on cue, his phone rang.

"Hey man. Is there anyway you can come over here? I need some help with something." Sidney purposely remained vague because he wasn't sure how to approach the subject yet. He also wasn't sure if James had any company that could've been listening.

"Sure. I'll be there in twenty."

Once James arrived, the two sat down at Sidney's kitchen island.

"Do you remember when I asked you about girls who are into kinky sex and being tied up?" He wouldn't make eye contact with James for fear that he'd get a ton of heat from him.

"Yeah. Why?" James questioned as he took a swig of beer.

"Well, long story short, I met someone, well, I've known her for a while. Remember the girl Dulci I told you about?"

"Carly's friend?"

"Yeah. Well. She was the reason I was asking about it."

"About what?"

"About girls that are into kinky sex," Sidney huffed with frustration, not with James, but because he didn't know how to please Dulci, and he was about to ask James how.

"Whoa! Why haven't you introduced me to her?"

"Because I'm seeing her."

"Then why am I here?" James asked, confusing written all over his face.

"Because I need your help. I've.. I'm not sure.. I've never had that kind of sex," Sidney admitted as he peeled the sticker off of his bottle.

"And you want my advice?" Sidney shook his head eagerly.

"Dude. Redtube. If you know specifically what she likes, search that shit. That way you can impress her when you fuck her for the first time."

James could read Sidney like a book, and the embarrassed look on his face said everything.

"I've already slept with her."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I couldn't get her off," Sidney said barely above a whisper.

"Oh… well…" James tried hard not to outwardly laugh at his captain and his sexual conundrum. James knew, however, that it must've been bad if Sidney was desperate enough to ask for advice.

"Ok. For the most part, these girls like the same thing as every other woman likes. They like foreplay, and a lot of it, but they like to have little power in the bedroom. Some of them, and you'll have to test this out on her as you get to know her better, like stuff in their butt, too. Just feel it out. Here's an idea. The next time you two are together and about to fuck, take her bra or something that could be used to fashion a tie and wrap her wrists together with it. That way, she gets what she wants and you don't have to be freaked out with the leather hardware."

Sidney nodded his head as he mentally stored the ideas. He only hoped Dulci would want to see him again.

"And like I said. Watch porn. You can learn a lot, especially about a lifestyle you're ignorant about."

After James left, Sidney went back to his couch and stared at his computer. Could he really watch a video to learn how to please Dulci? He thought back to their afternoon together. He had her wrapped around his finger, but when they started having sex, he lost her. Remembering the way she looked on top of him, one hand on his chest and the other rubbing her clit, biting her lip, he had to know how to please her. Opening the search engine, he entered redtube and searched "bondage".

"Here goes nothing."


	12. Chapter 12

Dulci bounced her leg anxiously as she sat at her desk. The day had been unusually slow at the hospital where she had more time to sit at her desk than actually seeing appointments. That meant she had nothing to do but think. She tried her best to busy herself with Internet shopping, Pinterest DIY projects, funny YouTube videos, and even watching a couple of TV shows on Netflix. It was 5:00 and she would be meeting Sidney at his house in two hours to pick up Sam for her ACL surgery the following day.

While she had talked to him on the phone a couple of times since their afternoon endeavor, she hadn't actually seen him. He was making them dinner, steaks if she wasn't mistaken, and after they were going to try and finish Silence of the Lambs without Dulci falling asleep. She smiled when she thought about the way he teased her, and she in turn made fun of him for napping every day.

She didn't anticipate the nerves when she thought about going to his house. She liked him, which is more than she could say for Henry. Henry was an outlet, so to speak. They would contact each other when they needed an escape or release. Sidney was different, the way he looked at her, smiled at her, joked with her. Dulci wanted to see where she and Sidney would go. She wondered if the dynamic between them had changed after the sex? She let her mind wander to how she would react if he decided he to tell her he just wanted to be friends and their dinner plan was just an exchange for her services with Sam. She told herself that if he mentioned anything about the sex being a mistake, she would agree, perform Sam's surgery, drop her off, and immediately call Henry when she got home the following day to be fucked into an oblivion and forget about Sidney Crosby.

Shaking the unwanted thoughts from her mind, Dulci decided to finally make the phone call she'd been dreading all afternoon. She had to call an elderly lady who just lost her husband to pancreatic cancer to relay the news that her dog Skippy's nasal tumor was malignant. She didn't cry often because she needed to be there to support her patients and their owners, but she knew this phone call would warrant some tears.

After exiting the bathroom with puffy eyes, she took her phone out of her desk to play solitaire. A message was waiting for her.

**Are you going to blow me off again tonight? ;-)**

She was thankful for the text because the smile it created made her feel better. He must've wanted to see her again. He wouldn't have texted her to make sure she remembered. How could she forget? Their first time together may have been rusty, but she wanted to try again, and she hoped that night could present itself as a reprieve. She tapped her fingers against her lips as she thought of the naughty ways she could respond given that he chose the words "blow me." She shook her head and decided for something PG since she was in a professional environment.

**I never blew you off! For someone who has a demanding schedule, I would expect you to appreciate extenuating circumstances! I'll be there a little after seven. :-) Can I bring anything?**

She opened her solitaire app and played four games before she got a response.

**Just your sexy self.**

She put her hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter that was bubbling in her. It was corny but cute. It answered her question about how he felt. He did want to continue to see her. He thought she was sexy. Dulci was in the middle of typing something equally as corny when Amy popped her head around the corner and interrupted her.

"Dr. Hammett, your new client request is in a room."

"Thanks, Amy." Dulci grabbed her stethoscope and lab coat and headed into the exam room corridor. She picked up the chart to go over the previous records provided by another animal hospital. She flipped to the back to see if the client had been referred by on of her good clients. The referral box had been checked, but the client left the name space blank.

"Did the client say who referred them?" Dulci asked Amy, knowing Amy had entered the information into their software system.

"She said she couldn't say who referred her. I know it's strange, right? What's more bizarre is that when I told the new client that the existing client who referred her would receive a coupon, she said the person didn't need it," Amy repeated with air quotes.

Dulci walked back into the lab and entered the exam room.

"Good afternoon. I'm Dr. Hammett," Dulci extended her hand in introduction.

"Hello. I'm Veronique Fleury. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. So this is Hugo." Dulci bent down to greet the poodle while Mrs. Fleury gave her a brief history of the presenting issue.

"I noticed a few months ago that he's was urinating blood, so I took him to my previous veterinarian and they have him antibiotics. The blood went away temporarily but now its back. He also seems to dribble on the floors a lot. I took him back and they repeated the same treatment, and now the issue is back. I just wanted a second opinion and my good friend told me to come and see you."

"Well that was nice of them. Who is your friend?" Dulci inquired as she looked into the dog's ears, hoping that in the privacy of the exam room, the client would tell her whom the referral came from.

"My husband's teammate Sid. He speaks highly of you," she complimented.

"I'm actually repairing his dog's knee tomorrow," Dulci said trying to change the subject and hide her flushed face. What exactly had he said about her? Did he tell them that he liked her? When she looked at Mrs. Fleury, expecting a response, Dulci noticed the client had an approving look on her face. She wasn't sure what to think of it.

"He looks good on his physical exam. Did your previous facility run a urinalysis or take abdominal x-rays?"

"I know for sure they did not do x-rays, but did run a urinalysis a couple of months ago."

"Ok. I'm going to call them and have them fax the results over so I can take a quick peek. In the mean time, I'm going to take him back and get a sterile urine sample for testing. We'll be right back," Dulci said as she exited the room.

The urine was loaded with white blood cells, bacteria, calcium oxalate and struvite crystals, all of the telltale signs of bladder stones. The x-rays confirmed that poodle had two very large stones surrounded by tinier ones. After Alyssa walked Mrs. Fleury back into their x-ray viewing suite, Dulci pulled up a healthy bladder for comparison.

"That can't be my dog. It's so little."

"You're right. I wanted to show you this x-ray as a comparison. This is what a typical bladder looks like on an x-ray. This is what Hugo's bladder looks like," Dulci said as she pointed to the obvious problem area.

"Wow. No wonder he's peeing everywhere."

"Yep. There are a couple of special diets I can prescribe for him that can potentially shrink the stones, but to be honest, he'll need to have them removed. I'm not convinced a special diet will dissolve the bigger stones," she said pointing at the x-ray.

"When can you do the surgery? I'd like to have it done sooner rather than later."

"Let me take a look at my schedule. You can follow me," Dulci said as she walked Mrs. Fleury back to the lobby. Dulci returned shortly with some paperwork.

"Alright, Mrs. Fleury, I can perform the surgery tomorrow if you'd like, or if that doesn't work, I can do this Friday."

"Please, call me Vero. It'll be awkward at the cookout this weekend if you keep calling me Mrs. Fleury. It makes me feel old," Vero said as she scrunched her nose. Dulci was taken by surprise. What cookout? Who was hosting said cookout? Why hadn't Sidney told her about this cookout if he told others she would be there? Did he not want people to know about her? Vero could see the thoughts and confusion on Dulci's face.

"He didn't tell you about the cookout?" Dulci shook her head in response.

"Ugh. Sometimes that boy is dense," Vero said as she rolled her eyes. It made Dulci chuckle lightly.

On the way to Sidney's house, Dulci received a text from him that his door was unlocked when she arrived. As she stood in front of his front door, she thought about walking in, but it didn't feel right, so she rang the doorbell anyway. When nobody came to the door immediately, she went to grab the doorknob, only for it to be ripped out of her hand as Sidney opened the door. When she looked at him, she lost all of her concerns and anxiety about meeting with him. The jovial smile on his face told her he was pleased to see her.

"Hi. Come in," he welcomed her in, the smile never leaving his face. She found it hard to speak, especially given the black tee shirt he worse that fit just right. Dulci instantly smelt his cologne, a mixture of citrus, warm spices, and natural like wood with a touch of cinnamon. It smelt so good that if she could get away with it, she'd shove her face in his chest and inhale his scent all day. As she walked in, she toed off her sandals and nudged them toward his pile by the door.

"You may be the only person I know that wears sandals in late October."

Dulci looked down at her feet and wiggled her toes.

"I don't like wearing socks unless I absolutely have to. They're too stuffy," she said as she hung her bag on the coat stand. When she turned to face him, he lightly kissed her lips before clasping her hand and bringing her into the kitchen. He tasted like minty chapstick and she was grateful that he didn't turn around and see her ridiculously giddy expression.

"It smells really good. Did you cook all of this?" Dulci complimented as she looked at the spread on his kitchen island. Not even a second later, her stomach audibly growled.

"Honestly, I can't cook. I ordered it from my favorite steak house," Sidney explained as he set his table.

"Can I get you something to drink? I have wine from Mario's discount wine shop," he offered with a playful smile.

"Haha. Funny. A glass of wine would be great, thank you." She watched him as he walked back to his cabinets. She stared stupidly at his back and the way his muscles moved as he opened the doors and removed two wine glasses. Once the glasses were poured, she watched as he wrapped his lips around the glass to take a sip. She vowed in that moment that she didn't care how awkward the sex was, she needed to get those plump lips back on her.

They walked back to the dinner table and sat down to eat.

"Where's Sam?" Dulci asked between bites, peering into the parts of the giant floor plan that she could see from the table.

"She's sleeping upstairs in my bedroom. I think the tramadol wears her out. I know it made me groggy when I've taken it for injuries."

Dulci told him she shouldn't be using the stairs, especially given his house was three stories. She wasn't sure which floor his room was. He could tell she was getting ready to reprimand him for not following her directions.

"Don't worry, Dr. Hammett. I carry her up and down the stairs to take her outside."

"As long as you do what I recommend as her veterinarian, Crosby," Dulci mocked his tone.

"Are you worried about her procedure tomorrow?" She asked in a more serious tone.

"No. I know she's in good hands. I thought about asking to come in and watch, but I didn't think I would be allowed."

"I can have one of the technician's video tape it for you. Although, it's a long procedure and it gets boring after a while."

"It wouldn't be boring if you were explaining it to me as we watched it together," Sidney suggested. Ducli nodded with a smile as she mentally reproached herself for the unneeded stress of questioning his feelings for her.

They were half way through the movie. Dulci was sitting Indian style on his oversized and luxurious couch. He was seated next to her with his legs outstretched onto an ottoman. They were sitting so close to one another that they were overlapping, Dulci's leg rested on his, her shoulder in the crook of his arm, which was wrapped around her. She bit back many smiles as she watched his reaction to the suspenseful parts of the movie. Without moving his head, he caught her watching him, and kissed her forehead before giving all of his attention to the movie.

"I still can't believe you've never seen this movie," Dulci whispered in disbelief.

"I spent the majority of my time in ice rink or practicing in my basement growing up," he responded quietly, trying to focus on the movie.

"Yeah, but this is a classic." Before she could finish her sentence, Sidney gently put his hand over her mouth in an attempt to shush her. She laughed quietly taking the hint, and when she pulled his hand off of her mouth, he clutched her hand and wouldn't get go, placing them in his lap. Dulci didn't know what to do with herself. Their position and interactions on the couch seemed to intimate. Instead of overthinking it, she nuzzled in closer and enjoyed the rest of the movie.

As the credits started, Dulci looked at the clock, it was close to midnight and she needed to be at the hospital at ten the next morning. When she looked over at Sidney, he was stifling a yawn. She didn't want to leave, but she knew she had to go. She stood up, stretched, and walked to the kitchen to drink the rest of her bottled water. Throwing the bottle into the recycling bin, she looked at Sidney.

"I think I'd better go. I have an early morning tomorrow." She wasn't sure why she felt the need to tell him why she was leaving. Maybe it was because he hadn't asked her to stay and she wanted to make it seem like she couldn't.

"Ok. Let me grab Sam and then I'll walk you to your car."

Dulci thought she noticed the remnants of a frown. While he was upstairs, she slipped her sandals on. She was lost in placing her bag on her shoulder when she heard him coming back down the stairs.

"Thank you for din…" He was kissing her deeply, arms around her, gripping handfuls of the back of her sweater to bring her closer to him. There was a desperation to the kiss as if he was asking her something and it left her breathless.

"I don't want you to leave," he said earnestly, his forehead resting against hers.

"I don't want to leave."

Without another word, he was kissing her. He gently nudged her bag off of her shoulder and it hit the floor with a thud. Taking her hands, he walked them up the stairs and into his bedroom. Dulci slowly walked into the room as Sidney shut the door behind them and disappeared. She was taking in her surroundings. She couldn't believe how put together his bedroom was. The walls were pewter gray with sleek black bedroom furniture and crisp white bedding. It was very neat. She wondered if he had a decorator do his entire house. She ran her hands over the white down comforter, wondering how he kept it so clean with a dog living with him. On the nightstand, she saw his iPad charging. She pushed the home button and swiped the device open. The media player was paused on an erotic BDSM porn movie. She stood there in disbelief. He couldn't have read her thoughts, could he? Of course, he saw her toys so knowing what she liked wouldn't be a far stretch. She didn't realize he was standing behind her until she saw his hand snake around and softly take the iPad, staring at it. When she looked at him, he looked mortified. He opened his mouth a couple of times to speak but closed it, contemplating something. Dulci panicked thinking he wouldn't want to be with her, so she took the iPad back and placed it where she originally found it.

"I'm sorry. That was rude. I shouldn't have looked at your things."

At first she thought she ruined the evening because they stood looking at each other for what seemed like an hour. She couldn't read his face. She considered leaving to save herself the embarrassment of being asked to leave until he finally spoke.

"I don't know much about any of that… I thought maybe I would look into it… for you. I thought you didn't enjoy the other afternoon because I didn't know what I was doing," Sidney explained, avoiding eye contact while rubbing the back of his neck. He was laying himself on the line and she couldn't let him hang on his own.

"That's not true. I enjoyed myself." It wasn't completely true, but he was being vulnerable and she didn't want to crush his ego anymore than it already was. Placing a hand on his cheek, she kissed him softly, hoping the little show of affection would make him relax, and it worked.

"But… you didn't… I didn't get you off." He sounded defeated.

"Sometimes it doesn't happen. I was close, though." When Dulci kissed him this time, she kissed him deeper, begging him to take her to bed with her lips, toys or no toys. She just wanted to be with him, orgasm or no orgasm. They continued making out for a few moments before he broke the kiss.

"I could try if you want?" he offered as he kissed along her jawline before returning to her lips with a kiss that he hoped would tell her he would try anything to please her.

"Maybe another night," she whispered darkly as she took his earlobe gently between his teeth. She hardly had a chance to look in his eyes for a reaction before he was passionately kissing her again, slowly walking her backward toward the edge of his bed. Before laying her down, he pulled her shirt over her head to reveal a black cotton bralette, which he quickly removed as well. Standing up, he reached back and removed his own tee shirt before crawling on top of her to feel her chest against his. His plan was to get her incredibly turned on. He knew what he was doing, regardless of what happened a few days before, and he promised himself he wouldn't sleep unless he made her come at least once that night.

Repositioning himself so that he was laying beside her, he kisses her everywhere, lips, chin, neck, chest, all while gently kneading her breasts and rubbing her nipples. Thinking that she may use clamps, he squeezed one between his thumb and forefinger and gave it a light tug before releasing it and repeating the action. He was rewarded with nails in his shoulders and a breathy moan. Knowing she liked it, he took his mouth to the other nipple and mimicked the same motions. When he looked up to gage her reaction, she had her head dug backward into the bed with her free hand clutching a handful of comforter. He loved the way her dark brown hair looked fanned out against his white bed.

Taking both hands to her jeans, he continued his ministrations on her nipples, switching back and forth between the two as he successfully removed her pants and underwear. Taking hold of her knees, he wedged himself between her thighs all while trailing his hands toward her pussy. To test the waters, he lightly circled her clit with the pads of two fingers, which made her shudder with a long moan. He smiled as he felt her nipple get harder in his mouth from the sensation between her legs. He pulsed between big circles and harder concentrated rubbing, and before long she was gyrating against his hand. He took the two fingers, stuck them in his mouth for lubrication, and rubbed her clit hard before pushing them inside of her, slowly pulling them in and out. He knew he found the spot when she practically came off the bed. He took his other hand and worked her clit more.

"Ooooh god," she moaned loudly. When he looked back at her, she was squeezing her own breasts, face furrowed and open mouth breathing.

"Yeah?" he asked her huskily.

"Faster," was all she could manage between whimpers and moans. She was close, closer than she had been with him before.

For better leverage, Sidney moved off of the bed, still finger fucking her, and knelt between her legs. He removed his fingers and worked her clit with his mouth, sucking hard, while holding her legs open with his free arm.

"Keep going," she cried toward the ceiling. "I'm gonna come."

While he was appreciative of her direction, he already knew she was coming. He could feel it well before she told him. However, it took him everything he had not to come in his own pants when she grabbed the back of his head and pushed him further down on her clitoris, grunting and groaning as she came all over his hand and mouth.

Sidney pulled his fingers out, gently rubbed the entirety of her as he stood to unfasten his jeans. Once he had himself completely disrobed, he used the results of her orgasm to lubricate himself. He took a hold of her ankle and easily slid her further toward the edge of the mattress so that he ass was nearly hanging off. He stood before her, slowly stroking himself as he gazed at her. Her face, chest, and breasts were still splotchy from her climax, and her eyes were glassy with pleasure and desire.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" Hearing his voice filled with heat and want shot waves of blood to the pit if Dulci's stomach. She nodded yes as she watched his hand on his dick. She watched him as he grabbed a throw pillow and lifted her ass to place the pillow under her. He positioned himself at her entrance, making his dick rub her clit lazily before he pushed inside of her until he was at the hilt.

"Jeessuss…" he hissed closing his eyes as he slowly pulled out before quickly pushing back in. Dulci swallowed a large gulp of air as she felt his entire length brushing against her g-spot. It felt even better when he took her knees and pushed them into the mattress as he gave her all of his length again, this time gaining speed and rhythm.

"Fuuucccckkk," she cried as she took her hand and started rubbing her clit, knowing it wouldn't be too long before she was coming again. She had never been so turned on in her life. All she could smell was Sidney and sex. All she could see was the room bouncing to the rhythm of their fucking and the sheer look of determination in his dark eyes. All she could hear was her sounds of pleasure, their bodies smacking together, and his grunting as he pick up the pace more.

Sidney couldn't look at her. She was too sexy with her messy hair, the sheen of sweat covering her chest and stomach, her breasts moving as he slammed into her, the way she played with her own clit. Pushing her hand away, he took both of his hands and held her down at her pelvic bone, adding more pressure to her g-spot. Taking one of his thumbs, he pressed down hard of her clit while he did short thrusts mixed with the occasional long one. She was seconds away from coming and he could feel it.

"Come," he demanded. "Come on my…" Before he could finished his sentence, she was coming so hard that she almost pushed him out of her pussy as she bucked her hips to ride out the wave. He held her hips as he continued, watching her coil around his bed, biting the comforter to muffle the pleasurable sobs. With that, he was done. He wanted to give her a third, but his balls were already throbbing for a release. With one more long thrust to the hilt, he collapsed on top of her and emptied himself with one of the best orgasms he'd ever had.

Shortly after, he rolled off of her but kept holding her, ending with Dulci on top of him with his arms wrapped around her. They both laid there in silence, trying to catch their breath. Dulci was about to fall asleep on top of him when she heard a whimper. Looking in the direction of the noise was Sam, ears perked looking at the two of them. Dulci faced Sidney, had his eyes closed, rubbing small circles around her back.

"I think she needs to go out," Dulci whispered after she brushed damp hair off of his forehead.

"I think she's being an inconsiderate cock block," he joked as he kissed her while rolling them back onto Dulci. She giggled against his lips at his silly comment. She rolled on her side, head resting on her bent elbow and watched as he wiped himself off with his tee shirt before going into his closet for a pair of basketball shorts and a hoodie.

"Get comfortable. I'll be back soon." He bend down and gave her a steamy kiss before patting his leg at Sam and exiting the room. She wanted to wait for him to return before going to sleep, but as she climbed under the covers, as knew she'd be gone within seconds of her head hitting the pillow.


	13. Chapter 13

The room was dark except for the soft glove of the television in the armoire. Dulci wasn't exactly sure where she was initially, but when she heard light snores, she realized she was in Sidney's bed, naked and shivering from the lack of covers. She turned over to see Sidney peacefully sleeping on his back. She tried to gaze at him, but realized her eyes were dry from sleeping in her contacts. She needed to find her bag and get her holder. She slowly got out of bed, careful not to disturb Sidney, and walked around to find her pile of clothing. He undressed her next to his side of the bed, but she didn't see her clothes anywhere except her underwear. It didn't help that her vision was cloudy. She did notice his hoodie on the chair across from his bed. She quickly slipped it over her head, basking in the smell of him. Exiting his room, she took the flight of stairs down toward the front door where she faintly saw her bag. Grabbing it, she ran back upstairs to his room and headed to his en suite bathroom. Shutting the door and turning the light on, she took a hazy look at herself. She looked like a mess. She had raccoon eyes from her mascara running, her chin was chaffed from the stubble on Sidney's chin, and her lips were red and swollen from kissing. Yet, she never felt better. Their second time together was definitely a reprieve. She felt herself getting hot thinking about the way he touched her, kissed her, fucked her.

Opening the cabinet, she found some really expensive exfoliating facial cleanser. She placed a small amount onto her hand, worked it into her face, careful not to scrub the irritated skin on her chin, and rinsed. She took her contacts out next and used a large amount of moisturizing eye drops to sooth her itchy eyes.

When she exited the bathroom, she noticed a small amount of sunlight coming through the curtains. It must've been close to 7am. If she got out of bed at 8, she could drive home, shower, dress, and make it to work with plenty of time to spare. She discreetly climbed back into bed and nuzzled into Sidney, laying her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his breathing for a few minutes before he shifted so that their fronts were together with his arms around her. She was eye level with his lips. She watched as they occasionally twitched, and when she thought she saw a faint smile on his face, she reached her head up and placed a light kiss on them. Dulci pulled back after she was done and was startled when he opened his eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked with a sleepy smile. She didn't have time to respond before he was returning the affection and taking it further. He rolled her onto her back and followed, ending on top of her with his legs between hers.

"Why are you wearing clothes?" he asked, kissing her neck and sucking on the spot directly beneath her ear.

"Because I woke up freezing without any blankets to keep warm," she weakly responded as he pulled his hoodie off of her body.

They made out while touching and teasing one another. Tired of being on top of her, Sidney rolled them both over until she was on top. He wanted to see her on display for him to ogle at. Except, she didn't straddle him like he had intended, instead laying fiat on top of him. He slid his hands in her underwear, feeling and squeezing her ass while trying to subtly push them down.

"We can't," Dulci murmured against his lips, pulling his hand from inside her underwear.

"Why not?" It almost sounded like a pout, making Dulci chuckle.

"Because I'll be cutting your dog in less than four hours. Do you want a physically exhausted veterinarian operating on your dog and risk fucking up?"

"If it were anyone else, I'd say no, but you look good when I physically exhaust you," he smiled before kissing her again.

"You're probably right. I have practice this morning and a game tonight," he added before kissing her again. They kissed each other languidly for a few more minutes until Dulci's phone started to ring, which she ignored. She knew her alarm would be going off soon, and she wanted to soak up as much time with Sidney as possible. She wasn't sure when they'd see each other again. Almost immediately after it finished ringing, it started again. Seeing that the caller ID said "work," she sat up, granting Sidney's wish by straddling him and answered the call.

"Hello?... Hi Savannah..."

Her calm professional demeanor left when Sidney sat up and started kissing her neck, making her stutter on the phone.

"I'm at... I'm... I'm getting ready..." Sidney smiled as her continued assaulting her neck and collarbone with kisses and gentle bites.

"I'm not breathy... I'm just... I'm working out... Hold on." Dulci pressed mute before she kissed him with everything she had, pushing him backward so she was laying completely on top of him again.

"You're incorrigible." She held him down with her hand as she sat back up, resuming the conversation.

He was feeling her everywhere, loving the sound of her fumbling on the phone because of what he was doing. All of a sudden, she was tense and wasn't responsive to his touch. When he looked up, he noticed Dulci's face had gone from a nice pink flush to a pale white. It looked like someone had smacked her in the face.

"Oh God. That's terrible," she gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. She stared down vacantly at Sidney's chest, coving her own with her arm.

"I'm here. I'll be in soon," and with that, hung up. Dulci was frozen in that position for what seemed like ages. Sidney tried to read her expression but struggled as she seemed to fly through different emotions: shock, grief, and when he noticed her tearing up, he saw the last emotion, guilt.

"Is everything ok?" he asked softly, rubbing her legs. She was jolted from her thoughts at his question.

"No," she said staring blanking at nothing.

"My good friend Alyssa, one of the technicians, miscarried last night. She was six and a half months pregnant. She went into labor early. It was too soon."

"That's awful," Sidney said quietly while sitting up, running his hands through his hair.

"She and her husband had been trying for months. They've been having difficulty. My heart breaks for them," she explained before climbing off of Sidney and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I need to go home and shower before work." Dulci stood and walked to the dresser that held her folded clothes. She hadn't noticed before, but in the sobering light of day, she found them. She quickly picked up her bra to put on. She felt a hand on her back before Sidney appeared in front of her.

"Take a shower here. Taylor leaves stuff here for visits."

"Ok."

Sidney quickly entered Taylor's en suite bathroom and grabbed her shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and blow dryer. Upon returning to his bedroom, he found Dulci sitting on the toilet, waiting with a towel and washcloth she must've found in his linen closet.

"Thank you," she said weakly with an empty smile. When she finally made eye contact, her eyes looked grief stricken. He left the bathroom to give her space, and as he was pulling a tee shirt out of a drawer, he heard faint, muffled sobs mixed with running water. Walking to the bathroom door, he contemplated getting into the shower with her to comfort her, but figured he'd give her privacy. Plus, he wasn't exactly sure why she was crying other than a good friend going through a terrible time. Sidney had married friends back at home who had experienced miscarriages, and while he felt sympathy for them, especially their wives, he was never that shaken up. As he was spritzing himself with cologne, he hit him, the pregnancy tests that Carly told him about. Maybe Dulci was crying because she recently had a miscarriage and she was living it again when she heard the news. He wanted to be there for her, but she hadn't said anything to him and he didn't want to pry. Instead, he figured he would run out and get her a coffee, hoping to cheer her up.

Thirty-five minutes later, Dulci was freshly showered and dressed. Luckily, she had a spare set of scrubs and under garments in her trunk for messy days at the hospital. When she walked down stairs to find Sidney, she found a note instead, notifying her he'd be back soon. She was starving, she opened his fridge to find food but there was nothing really edible to her standards. As she was raiding his cupboard, she heard his garage door open. Closing it, she turned around to find him carrying in a Starbucks cup and a breakfast sandwich. She was already a crying wreck, and the site of him holding out comfort food made her tear up again.

Sidney could see her fighting back emotional baggage. He instantly placed the coffee and sandwich on the entry table and went to her, opening his arms to hug her.

"Please don't say anything, it'll make it worse," Dulci sniffled into his shoulder as she hugged him tightly. He held her as she silently cried for a minute before she let go and walked toward the powder room. Wiping her face with a tissue, she noticed him in the doorway, fidgeting as he tried to figure out what to say. To break the awkward heir between them, she closed their distance and gave him a light kiss.

"I'm sorry about this," she said gesturing toward her face. "It's not very becoming."

"Why are you apologizing? You're upset about your friend. I just wish I knew what to say...or do," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her again.

"This is perfect." They stood rocking back and forth for a few moments before Dulci looked at her watch.

"Sam and I better get going. We have a date with the scalpel and ten blade." While she was particularly trying to be funny, Sidney chuckled a little, and she smiled back. He was probably trying to raise her spirits. He walked Sam out to Dulci's car with her and lifted Sam into the backseat. As Dulci opened the driver side door, Sidney stopped her, turned her to face him, and gave her a kiss that spoke volumes to her. He was telling her that he was there for her if she needed and that he wanted to be there, tears or no tears.

"Good morning sun..." Savannah could tell Dulci had been crying with her puffy eyes and red face. Instead of saying anything else, she grabbed her hand and dragged her into the doctor's luxurious bathroom with Sam in tow.

"Stay here. I'll be right back," Savannah said as she closed the bathroom door. Not even a minute later she returned with a bag full of makeup.

"Do you want me to kick his ass?" Savannah asked as she sorted through her bag.

"What are you talking about?"

"Crosby. Did he make you cry? I'll beat his ass," she added handing Dulci some BB cream.

"This," Dulci gestured to her face, "has nothing to do with him. I was crying about Alyssa," she finished, rubbing her face with the foundation.

"Oh... Yeah. That's freaking horrible. I didn't think you'd be that upset about it." Savannah's statement came out sounding more like a question.

"I feel...guilty."

"Grief I understand, but why guilt?" Savannah asked handing Dulci some brown eye liner.

"I'm only going to tell you because I know you won't judge me. I had an abortion six years ago because one, I was on the worst medication around for pregnancies. I didn't know I was pregnant when I took it, and my GYN told me it would be wise to abort, and two, I didn't to try being a first time mother during my first year of vet school." Even though she knew Savannah wouldn't judge, she couldn't look at her. She felt ashamed.

"So how does that make you feel guilty?"

"Because Alyssa has wanted to start a family for months and she's having so much trouble. Meanwhile, I get pregnant by mistake from looking at a penis the wrong way... I feel like a terrible person." Dulci couldn't finish.

"Let me ask you something. Had you not been on medication that would've severely altered the health of the baby, would you have kept it?"

Dulci thought about calling it off the day she had the procedure. She was in love with Jason and she thought they could make it work.

"I didn't want a baby, but I would've tried."

"Then no guilt necessary. You did what was best for you and the pregnancy at the time. What do you tell clients about quality of life? If it's grim then they need to consider euthanasia. The same can be said of your situation. Plus, your physician recommended it." Savannah always had a clear, nonjudgmental outlook to every situation, and Dulci appreciated it.

"Thank you," Dulci smiled feebly.

"Anytime. I thought I was going to whip some ass."

Savannah smiled in return.

"Well, Sidney saw me crying this morning. He may run for the hills after I'm done with Sam's surgery today," Dulci said applying mascara.

"Oh please. He cries to the refs all the time," Savannah scoffed, waving the Dulci's concern away.

"In all seriousness. I was a wreck this morning after you called. We were in the middle of making out before hand. He probably thinks I'm nuts."

"Ohhhhh. So that's why you sounded winded. Good for you! Have you had sex since his poor attempt?"

Dulci closed her eyes, smiled coyly, and turned so red she matched the medical waste disposal box.

"I want details later! You can just leave the makeup in my cubby in the break room." And with that, Savannah left the bathroom.

Three hours later, Dulci was finishing suturing up her spay when Savannah entered the surgical suite.

"He didn't run," she said with a huge grin. Dulci was confused, and Savannah noticed instantly.

"Christ, Dulci. Don't you remember the conversation earlier about nuts and running for the hills? Well he didn't run."

As Savannah walked away, the technician looked at Dulci, and Dulci shrugged in return. She had an inkling, however. How was Savannah sure he wasn't going to break off whatever they had? Had he called the hospital? The thought made Dulci's heart rate rise. After giving the technician the usual patient wake up instructions, she walked to the front desk to find Savannah, who was nowhere to be found. She walked toward the doctor's office and the moment the office manager spotted her, she turned to Dulci with a grin.

"Someone's got an admirer."

Dulci looked on her desk to find a giant arrangement of red cabbage roses, the biggest she'd ever seen. Pulling out the card, she read to herself.

You're beautiful.

-Sid.

As she held the card to her chest and stuck her nose in the flowers, Savannah interrupted.

"Told you so. And by the way, Mrs. Szorc is here and you said you needed to speak to her?"

"Oh. Right on time. Can you put her in room four?" Dulci asked as she took her surgical gown off and hung it on her chair.

There was an hour before the game started, and usually Sidney wouldn't look at his phone let alone bring it in the arena, but he wanted to keep a line of communication open incase anything happened to Sam. He had two messages from Dulci two hours before he looked. He silently panicked and hoped it wasn't anything serious. The first message was a picture of Sam after surgery, stoned out of her mind with a pink cast on her back leg. She was still connected to an IV drip on a comfortable bed. Dulci was sitting next to her Indian style, still in her surgical gown, laughing as Sam was trying to lick her chin. The picture warmed his heart and he couldn't get the smile off of his face if someone had paid him to, and he wouldn't want to. The second message was also a picture. It was a close up profile view of Dulci smelling the roses he had sent to her earlier that day. She had her eyes closed and an affectionate look on her face. It was candid and beautiful, like he said in the card. He saved the picture to his phone and added it to her contact information. He wanted to see it every time she called and hoped that she'd call soon.


	14. Chapter 14

"Dr. Hammett, when you get a chance, I need to talk to you about something."

Dulci was in the middle of looking over an x-ray when Savannah popped her head around the doorjamb. She needed a break. She'd been looking at the x-ray for ten minutes trying to figure out where she wanted to start medically treating her current patient. To start, the dog was an uncontrolled diabetic, probably Cushingoid, and most likely had pancreatitis. She couldn't seem to communicate to the owner enough that without regulating the Cushings disease, the diabetes wouldn't regulate because of the insulin resistance associated with Cushings from the increased cortisol levels, and the pancreas was angry because it can't properly regulate blood glucose levels. The dog also had an enlarged liver and an elevated calcium level among others that had her wondering if the dog had cancer. She couldn't understand why people who had the financial means to regulate diabetes would let it go uncontrolled to the point where their dog was seriously ill. And yet, the dog was on it's second day of hospitalization and the owners had no problem paying for the variety of tests Dulci needed to run to fix their pet. At that point, she was hungry, tired, and needed a break from the x-ray to find Savannah.

"What's up?"

Savannah simply looked at her with a "don't say anything" expression and subtly motioned Dulci to follow.

"I heard Dr. Harrison and King talking about you inconveniencing them by having Sam in the doctor's office all day. King doesn't understand why she can't have her wretched dog at work while you bring a friend's dog and it's ok. Just giving you a head's up," Savannah whispered before leaving the storage room.

Dulci felt like she was planted into the ground in that spot. She'd done everything Dr. Harrison had ever asked her. She worked overtime, worked emergency even though she wasn't originally hired for it, and covered for multiple doctors who were on vacation or sick. She'd never called out, worked when she was ill, and had the most returning clientele. She felt like she couldn't win. The moment she turned to exit the storage room, Dr. Harrison found her.

"Dulci! There you are! I've been meaning to talk to you about your ACL surgery from Monday. I'm sure you are aware, but we can't have employees, professional staff or not, having their clientele's pets at the hospital on a daily basis…"

"I don't mean to interrupt, Dr. Harrison, but Sam is my dog. She's only here because I've been keeping her moderately sedated because of her energy level. I'm keeping her at home starting tomorrow. She wont be an inconvenience any longer," Dulci explained coolly before leaving to see another appointment.

It had only been two days since Dulci operated on Sam. She'd already destroyed her cast bandage because she was a Houdini, managing to pull her Elizabethan collar off twice, leaving her full access to chew at her bandage. Originally, Sidney was supposed to take her immediately after the procedure, having been off for a couple of nights, but ended up doing hours of interviews, photo shoots, and promotions between practices and workouts. If Sam were at Sidney's house, she would've destroyed the entire incision and Dulci didn't mind taking care of her. While she was stubborn, Sam was a sweetheart and Dulci missed having a dog.

She was taking Sam for a short walk around her cul-du-sac when she saw familiar headlights pulling into her driveway. Stopping behind a couple of trees, she watched him get out of his car holding grocery bags and a bottle of what looked to be either champagne or wine. He knocked a couple of times. She snickered watching him fidget in front of her door with his baseball hat sitting low over his eyes. She could tell he was getting annoyed when he pulled out his cellphone, body language getting visibly tense and rigid. She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, Sidney obviously calling her. She decided she would mess with him and ignore the call, letting it go to voicemail after two rings. Walking to the foot of her driveway slowly with Sam gimping next to her, she laughed silently before committing to the rude gesture.

"Christ," Sidney muttered dryly after hearing the whistle. This is why he hated waiting outside of Dulci's door. She lived in a busy neighborhood and everyone knew what type of car he drove and he wasn't a stranger to getting unwanted attention; overtly flirty introductions, passing napkins with their number on them, worn thrift store wedding dresses with proposal signs at games, stuffing underwear in his pockets at clubs. No one has ever cat called at him before. That was something guys did to girls, not the other way around. He contemplated acting like he didn't hear the whistling and hoped Dulci would answer her door. It wasn't until he heard a familiar giggle that he turned to find Dulci with a guilty grin and Sam walking up the driveway.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist," she admitted, letting go of the leash as Sam pulled to run to him. Dulci watched in awe as Sam and Sidney greeted each other with hugs and kisses, obviously excited to see one another. She very much appreciated a man who adored his pets, cat or dog. It was an added bonus that Sidney was incredibly attractive. Sam eventually gimped over to Dulci's front door where she sat and waited patiently for Sidney and Dulci to follow.

"I guess she's ready to go in. She's not going to want to come home." Sidney turned quickly to Dulci, pulled her into an embrace, and gave her a steamy kiss before adding, "I can't say I blame her for wanting to stay."

Dulci couldn't help but smile at the comment. Looking down at his feet, she was curious to what he brought.

"What's in the grocery bags?"

"It's a surprise." He took her hand and walked her in to the house. When she closed the door behind them, she turned to find Sidney staring at the entry table with a smirk on his face. When he looked at her, he simply said, "Nice entry table," and walked toward the kitchen, leaving Dulci to reel in the memory of their first kiss. Following his foot steps, she watched as he started pulling various ingredients out of the bags: feta cheese, quinoa, spicy Italian sausage, yellow and orange bell peppers, an onion, and tomato paste.

"I'm making you dinner," Sidney said proudly.

"That's very nice of you. What are you making?"

"Well, I thought I'd make stuffed peppers." He reached above his head to grab the frying pan hanging about Dulci's kitchen island, causing his shirt to ride up, showing a hint of his stomach. Her mouth went dry. Since she had a taste of what he could do, she wanted more, and she hoped it could be tonight.

"Stuff peppers, huh? I thought you said you couldn't cook?" While she was over the moon that he was going to try and cook for her, stuffed peppers wasn't something a first timer should attempt, not to mention that they took forever to cook.

"It's not that I can't cook, it's just that I don't do it often. It's my mom's recipe. She said it was easy and fail proof." He took the recipe out of his pocket and set it on the counter. It was an email with instructions and it was probably the cutest thing Dulci had ever laid eyes on. His mother added pictures for every step to make sure he didn't "botch the dinner."

"And besides, if I screw it up, I have a great cook by my side," he finished as he kissed her cheek.

Dulci pulled out all of the utensils he would need to cook, including a large muffin pan, earning herself a puzzled look.

"It's for the peppers. It's easier to assure they stay upright this way when they cook," she demonstrated, placing an uncut pepper into one of the muffin cups. Sidney just nodded.

"You know all the tricks, don't you?"

"Hardly. When I'm stressed or unsettled, I like to cook and try new methods. Needless to say, in vet school, I cooked and experimented a lot," she explained taking a bite out of a pepper top she'd just cut.

Placing the sausage in the pan, Sidney talked about how he handled stress, mainly by watching tape or spending extra time practicing or skating. As he was explaining, Dulci tried hard to let him cook by himself, biting back smile after smile as he tried to break up the sausage links with the spatula without success.

She handed him a filet knife, getting another confused look in return.

"You have to cut the casing off first, then you can crumble it," she looked at him reassuringly, trying not to sound patronizing.

"I probably should've picked something easier," he huffed, embarrassed at his lack of culinary experience. She knew he was trying to impress her, so she thought of an idea she thought might ease his mind.

"You're doing great. We'll make them together," she offered as she took the cutting board and started chopping the onion.

Dulci manned the quinoa as the two fell into a light conversation about the weird things clients would ask or say.

"Best inappropriate question," Sidney suggested as a topic.

"How much time do you have?" Dulci asked as she took a sip of champagne.

"All night," he returned with a sexy smile.

"Oh, there are really too many to repeat, but the funniest and most disgusting was probably when a woman asked me why her dog was eating the crotch out of her teenage daughter's underwear," she snorted as she remembered the horrified look on the daughter's face.

She had never seen Sidney laugh so hard. He was doubled over on the island, body shaking with his high-pitched laugh. She couldn't understand anything he tried to say, which made her fall into a fit if laughter as well, tears streaming down he face. His laughter was definitely contagious.

"How'd you answer," he asked when he was finally able to breathe.

"I think I just changed the subject. Oh! Here's another good one and this just happened this morning. No joke. A teenage girl asked me 'why her dog been eatin his bafroom after he go.' I had to walk out of the exam room so I didn't laugh in front of her. I once had a puppy with cropped ears come in for an exam and the owner asked when her dog's ears would grow. She didn't know that he puppy's ears had been cropped, and also didn't know that dogs are born with ears. I spent a lot of time with that owner trying to educate her."

She turned her attention back to the quinoa as Sidney shook his head in disbelief, started fluffing it, took the pot off of the burner, and dumped it all in the trashcan. Sidney watched her, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I burnt the quinoa," she exhaled as she walked to her cupboard and pulled out a box of instant brown rice to make instead.

"Ruining my dinner," he joked under his breath.

"You're distracting," she admitted while turning her back to him, refilling the pot with water.

"I'm distracting?" he asked as he moved behind her.

"I'm not the one who is wearing a low cut sweater that buttons from behind. It's begging me to take it off," he said seductively, his breath tickling her neck.

"Why do you think I wore it?" When she turned to face him, she had to grab the edge of the counter for balance. Their pelvises were already touching as he pinned her to the counter with his hips, and their faces were only centimeters apart. She could smell the mixture of his soap, cologne, and aftershave. It was intoxicating. Just as they were about to kiss, Dulci's stomach growled so loud that she could hear Sam's collar tags jingle as she perked her head up looking for the source of the offensive noise. Dulci had always been embarrassed at how loud her stomach sounded whether she was hungry or sick. Sidney just looked down at her stomach with a goofy expression on his face.

"Sorry," she blushed looking down.

"I'm just happy you're hungry for my experimental cooking," he smiled, softly pushed her chin up and kissed her lips.

After the peppers were finished, the two at dinner on Dulci's couch, watching hockey. Dulci was fully invested in the game when she was interrupted.

"One of my team mates is having a get together this weekend. Would you like to go with me?"

"I'd loved to, but I'm working all weekend." She'd completely forgotten about the conversation with his teammate's wife about the cookout. When she looked at him, she noticed a hint of disappointment in his face.

"What exactly does 'all weekend' entail? I was going to ask if you'd come to the game on Sunday."

"I work 8am to 8pm both Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully I'll be able to catch parts of the game between appointments," she said somewhat abruptly as if to justify her excuse. Taking an uneasy bite of her food, she wondered if every other girl he'd ever been dropped their entire schedule for him whenever he asked. While she would love to go to games or team gatherings, she couldn't change her schedule on a dime and she hoped that one day he would understand. This moment was the first time Dulci actually felt like her schedule would get in the way of her social life and she was worried that he would find a more accommodating girl to spend his free time with. Consumed in her thoughts, she didn't notice she was pushing around her food, or that Sidney was in the process of taking her plate and face her body towards his.

"I keep forgetting you have a demanding schedule. I would like for you to go to as many games as your schedule allows." Sidney pulled Dulci's body into his as he wrapped his arm around her.

"I'd love to go to another game. It was a blast. I just hope you don't hold it against me that I have an uncompromising schedule and that occasionally my evening plans will change depending on my workload that day. You've already experienced that once in the short time we've known each other."

"I'll admit, it's different to be with someone who has their own schedule, but, with you, I don't mind. I like that you have your own commitments and obligations. I like that you're very work motivated and independent. It's refreshing and admirable, and there's nothing sexier than an intelligent woman who is passionate about what she loves, especially when she's passionate about helping something that is extremely important to me," he confessed as he held her hand, soothingly rubbing his thumb over the back of it. Dulci could only smile brightly in response.

"I'm going on a four day road trip starting tomorrow and my parents are going to take care of Sam. Can I tell them to call you if needed?"

"Of course. I mean, if I'm working I wont be able to get to my cell phone right away, but they could leave a message. Obviously if it's an emergency and I don't answer, they should have the hospital's number." All of a sudden, she felt restless and uncertain. She'd gotten used to hearing from him either in person or by phone. How did the road trips work? Should she expect to go four days without hearing from him? Should she call him or wait for him to call her? And worse, they never talked about their status. Were they dating? Would he go out and sleep around? Was it too early to ask?

"I'm going to get Sam ready to go," Sidney broke her out of her thoughts with a quick kiss. As he leashed her and walked toward her front door, Dulci picked up the dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen. After she was done cleaning up, she walked into her bedroom to get ready for bed. She thought for sure they would have had sex, especially if he was leaving for a couple of days, but when he was gone for longer than fifteen minutes, she figured he left to take Sam home. Throwing on a tattered Virginia Tech tee sweatshirt and a pair of mesh shorts, she climbed into bed. He'd been gone for almost a half an hour. She turned off her light and settled into her bed, alone, without Sidney, and sighed loudly before closing her eyes, opening them back up when there was a knock at her door.

"Why'd you lock me out?" Sidney asked when he closed the door behind him, undoing Sam's leash.

"I… I thought you left. I mean… If you leave tomorrow, you probably have to pack and…" He silenced her instantly by kissing her, slowly walking them into her bedroom.

"I meant it when I said I had all night," he mumbled between kisses to her chin and neck. "I wish you wouldn't have taken that sweater off. I wanted to take it off of you," he continued as he quickly took her sweatshirt off, tossing it somewhere in her bedroom.

Dulci was just as eager to remove his clothes. She removed his shirt and went to unbutton his jeans, successfully pushing them down before he stopped her.

He picked her up, her legs wrapped around his hips, and sat himself on the foot of her made bed. Holding her tight, he scooted the two of them back towards her mound of pillows, never breaking the kiss. His hands roamed her entire body, not like he hadn't already explored her, but as he lightly trailed his fingers up and down her back, softly kneading as she rocked against his lap, he couldn't get enough of her or the goose bumps he was giving her. He slowly but purposefully brought his hand to her chest to squeeze her breast. She moaned lightly into his mouth, gyrating her hips harder against him with every squeeze, and when he concentrated solely on her nipple, she flung her head back, eyes drunk with arousal, inviting him to feast on her neck. He licked from her collarbone to her ear lope, remembering every fragrant and flavor of her skin. She smelt like brown sugar and roses, her hair smelt like the ocean, and her skin tasted mildly salty from perspiration.

Taking a hand to her hair, he gently gripped a handful to keep her head tilted. He wanted to hear her, every moan, whimper, and pleasurable sob. His other hand traveled from her nipple down her stomach until he felt the elastic of her underwear. He knew she was turned on, but he didn't realize how wet she'd be for him, and he exhale loudly when he felt how slick and engorged she was. Taking two fingers, he gently plunged them into her, getting the lubricated before taking them out and slowly rubbed her clitoris as she pushed her vagina onto his fingers.

"Oh my god yes," she sighed as she took both of her hands to touch her own nipples, rubbing, stimulating, pinching.

"Fuck," Sidney whispered as he watched her touch herself to help herself along. Eventually he pulled her hair back further so he could replace one of her hands with his mouth. When he succeeded, she moaned loudly before doing something he didn't suspect. She took one of her hands to his pants, unbuttoning them, before taking her empty hand and subtly spitting in it. He didn't have long to think before her lubricated hand was in his pants, firmly gripping his dick as she started stroking. His enclosed lips stifled a long groan as he sucked her nipples, switching back and forth between the two as she moved her other hand into his pants to help. To say he was impressed with her technique was an understatement. Her hands were stacked one above the other, both stroking up and down together, but twisting in separate directions, and it felt incredible, so much so that he hand to stop her before he came. He could tell she felt confused by her sudden stiff body language.

"It feels too good," he kissed and licked between her cleavage, before running his mouth along the underside of her breasts, gently biting the skin below her areola, making her breathing hitch.

"Lay back." He helped lower her into her back, her upper half between his legs, her lower half on his thighs, keeping his occupied fingers steadily working her clit, only stopping to slide off her underwear. Soon, his two fingers made their way inside as he licked his other thumb to rub her clit. He watched as she writhed on him, clenching her stomach when he stimulated her g-spot until she was vocally panting, digging her nails in his clothed calves. He almost came in his pants for the second time as she came on his hand, arching her back off of the mattress, so much so that he couldn't see her face, only the small mounds of her breasts, moaning obscenities. He didn't give her a chance to come down as he pulled her upper body back toward him, holding her lower half up, and sliding her onto his penis all the way to the base, staying in that position for a few moments. She held onto his for her life, arms around him gripping his back as she finished coming.

He didn't give her much time to think before he kissed her, taking her breath away as he sucked her bottom lip as he took his fingers back to her clit, making her involuntarily tremble on top of him.

Dulci wasted no time riding him, slowly at first, but eventually catching speed as he met her halfway. She had never been so aroused. She couldn't get enough of the determined look on his face as he fucked her, the sweat beading on his body and face from the exertion, the sound of his hips slapping against her ass, the squeaking of her mattress, but the best noises were those coming out of his mouth, the heavily breathing, the moaning and groaning.

Dulci's hands were planted to Sidney's chest, one of his on her hip while the other stayed between her legs. While he knew he was fucking her brains out, he wanted to try something he hoped she'd like.

"Turn around," he leaned up and whispered in her ear before taking the lobe in his mouth. She wasted no time as she turned around, facing away from him and sinking back down onto him. Both moaned at the new position. She made use of one of her hands by stimulating her own clit, using the other arm for support. Sidney watched as she rode him in reverse, loving the new sight. He gently squeezed her ass as she did the work on her own. Once he felt her getting close, he sat himself forward, took both of her wrists, and held then behind her with one hand as he reached around with the other and rubbed her clit with all he had as she bucked on top of him. He knew he had her when he started thrusting into her, using her wrists as leverage.

"Oh my god I'm gonna come," she cried, her voice bouncing like her body. When it happened, she fell forward, ripping her hands out of his grip, grasping the comforter as she cried into it, letting him take the reigns, gripping her ass until he slammed into her, motionless as he came harder than ever.


	15. Chapter 15

"What's the most bizarre or inappropriate question anyone has ever asked you?"

The two were lying together, legs entwined, bodied wrapped around one another, continuing their conversation from dinner, enjoying their post-coital bliss.

"Hmm. I once had an interviewer ask me if my concussion had any ramifications on my personal life," Sidney responded with a chuckle.

"Wow. That's bold. What would that have anything to do with your playing career?" Dulci asked, her head resting on his chest.

"I don't know. So many press people try to weasel their way into my personal life."

She was falling asleep. The way he was running his fingers through her hair was soothing, and his warm body pressed against hers made her feel safe and comfortable.

"Someone once asked me if I had a dark side growing up. That was interesting."

The sound of his voice jolted her from her twilight.

"Were you sleeping?" He craned his neck down to look at her.

"I wasn't trying to. You're so warm and comfortable, and your hand in my hair doesn't help," Dulci murmured nuzzling into his chest.

"Do you want me to stop?"

She shook her head no as she brought her hand to rest on his other pectoral muscle. Thinking she would be going to sleep, he used his legs to pull the throw blanket toward them enough that he could grab it without moving them too much. Once they were adequately covered, he put his hand onto hers, gently rubbing up and down. He felt a jagged grove on the top of her wrist that he examined with his fingers, wondering what the scar came from.

"That was a cat bite that needed a drain," Dulci answered his unspoken question.

"Ouch. What happened?" Even though it happened two years ago, Dulci felt her heart clench at the way his voice sounded concerned.

"It was my second day seeing appointments after graduating. The cat was very feral and the technician was terrified. I sedated it to I could do a thorough exam. After I reversed the sedative, I scruffed it while she put it's carrier back together. It was too late at that point, he somehow craned his head and latched onto my wrist while he was half sedated, which made it worse because it wasn't completely aware that it was already biting me."

Sidney watched as she spoke with that hand, gesturing as she told the story while her other arm was folded between them.

"I went to the local urgent care facility and got antibiotics, but the bacteria was pretty aggressive. When my wrist started oozing, I went to the ER. I had a drain in for three weeks. They eventually had to suture it open to flush it repeatedly."

"Left a pretty nasty scar." He held her wrist close to his eyes, looking closer before kissing the discolored raised skin. The sentiment made her blush.

"Guess you'll never be a bracelet model, eh?"

"Guess not," she sighed. "I usually wear my watch over it. It makes me self-conscious when people stare at it. It's not pretty," she continued.

"I've seen worse. Most hockey players have wear and tear," he said putting her arm back on his chest, holding it in place.

"I bet you have."

They fell into a comfortable silence again, watching No Strings Attached. Dulci thought the movie was fitting. Here they were, lying naked together less than an hour after having extraordinary sex. As she closed her eyes, she thought about her situation. She was developing feelings for him, and she wasn't sure if the feeling was mutual or if he wanted the keep it casual. He said he was interested, but what did that really mean? The more time she spent with him, the more she found herself daydreaming about being his girlfriend. The way he held her, kissed her, touched her, and looked at her didn't seem casual. It was a proper relationship compared to what she had with Henry. They were the definition of casual sex.

"Is this what you had with Henry?" Sidney gestured toward the television. Dulci blinked in surprise. This was the second time he seemed to be able to channel her thoughts. If her mind wasn't racing before, it was going a mile a minute then. Why did he want to know about Henry? Was Sidney comparing himself to Henry? Was he jealous? Did he think she was still having casual sex with Henry? Should she be talking about Henry to the man she could easily fall for? She started involuntarily fidgeting as she tried to weigh the pros and cons of discussing her sexual escapades with someone she potentially wanted to be with. She didn't want to scare Sidney away. Wasn't it to early to talk about past lovers and significant others?

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked," he kissed the top of her head, squeezing her into a hug as an apology. Within an instant of asking, he could feel her relaxed body harden.

"No, no. It's fine. I just didn't expect him to come up as a topic you would want to discuss."

She scooted off of him and rested her head in her hand, looking at him.

"Where should I start," she sighed before going with what felt right.

"You could say we were friends with benefits. We never dated or discussed the possibility of dating. I've know him since vet school."

"Is he a vet, too?"

"No. He was dating one of my roommates from Virginia Tech when I met him. I didn't even know he lived in Pittsburgh until I saw him at the grocery store shortly after I moved here."

"When did you start seeing him?"

"Shortly after our first run in together. He messaged me on Facebook, we met for drinks to catch up. Our reunion was at a time when we were going through serious changes in our lives. What we had was a way to comfort one another, I guess." She shrugged, figuring her explanation as the best way to describe them. She was afraid to look at him. Instead she picked at a fray in the sheets. She was being as honest as she could be, putting herself on the line.

"Were either of you seeing anyone at the time?"

"I wasn't. I don't believe in being romantically involved with more than one person at a time, or in that particular circumstance, being physically involved with more than one person at a time." Dulci's laughed nervously. Her heart was beating faster the more serious their conversation got, and she started fearing her sentences sounded like word vomit.

"I can't speak for him," she cleared her throating, trying desperately to get it together.

"Was he the one interested in BDSM?"

She tried to get rid of her deer-in-headlights expression, but it was no easy feat. She was hoping he'd forgotten about it. She nodded as she tried to find her breath.

"Have you talked to him recently?"

Dulci could tell he felt a tinge of jealousy by the way he lost eye contact as he asked. She nudged him over so she could lay her head onto his chest, where she hoped she'd wake up the next morning.

"No. I recently starting someone and I hope it works out." She closed her eyes, one because she was exhausted, and two because she hoped they were seeing each other exclusively, but was afraid to ask.

"Good," he whispered into her hair as she kissed her head.

Dulci smiled against his chest as she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

"Dulci! Earth to Dulci!"

She was having a late dinner with Savannah two days after Sidney left for his road trip, but couldn't focus on reality to save her life.

"What's going on up there?" Savannah laughed, pointing towards Dulci's head.

"I'm a fucking mess," Dulci huffed, hands fisting her hair, shaking her head.

"Obviously! What's up? Maybe I can help."

"I like him, really like him." Dulci looked at Savannah, waiting for jokes to start, but nothing happened.

"Yeah, and?"

"What if the feeling isn't mutual? What if I'm just a piece of ass?"

"Why would you think that? If he was just fucking you, he'd leave after he was finished. He's always stayed over, right?"

"Yes, apart from the first time we slept together, but I had to go to work, so I guess that doesn't count," Dulci reasoned, more so to herself then to Savannah.

"Then why are you doubting he wants you?"

"He's in Toronto right now and I can't help but worry that he's at a bar, chatting up some girl, ready to take her to bed. Don't judge," Dulci warned her friend.

Savannah had known Dulci for two years, and had never known Dulci to be uptight about anything. It was clear that she more than liked Sidney.

"He's probably worried about the same thing here."

"That's absurd. I don't have thousands of guys waiting for me to be available."

"Let me get this straight. Do you really think the guy who is sought out by ninety-eight percent of women in Pittsburgh, spends his free time with you, trusts you with the care of his dog, let's you cry on his shoulder, buys you flowers just to cheer you up, and has hot sex with you as often as his and your schedules will allow, doesn't like you romantically?" Savannah rattled off, counting on her fingers.

"He asked me about my relationship with Henry. What if I'm his Henry?"

"Maybe he was just trying to get to know you better. Better yet, maybe he was trying to feeling your answers out to see if you were looking to be in a legitimate relationship with him. From everything you've told me, he's been into you even while he was with that shitty friend of yours."

"That's another thing. What about Carly?" Dulci rolled her eyes at herself. It was just another obstacle she wasn't sure how to handle when it came to her and Sidney.

"What about her?" Savannah scuffed.

"She's supposed to be my best friend and I'm totally into her ex boyfriend. I feel awful," Dulci sighed, forehead resting against her hand.

"Yeah, the boyfriend that she messed around on, dumped _while_ she was _pregnant_ with his child, which she _aborted_ without him knowing, might I add. As far as I'm concerned, she's a terrible girlfriend and a horrible friend, especially since she used you as her pawn to lie to him. He deserves someone honest like you, who went out of her comfort zone to talk about her ex-fling even thought she didn't want to, just because he asked. She even told you that you should date, if I remember correctly?"

"Not in so many words. She said we'd be a better match because she wanted something he couldn't give her while I'd be more accommodating with my busy work schedule. That's not her blessing to date him, if that's even what he and I are doing," Dulci huffed, internally plagued with her different thoughts and emotions.

"Speaking of honesty, do you think I should've told him about Carly and the pregnancy and abortion?"

"You could have, but you were trying to protect your long time friend, and it wasn't really your place to share that information with him, regardless of how hot he is shirtless," Savannah thought out loud, trying to figure out the situation if she was in it.

"What about mine?" Dulci knew telling Sidney would be touchy, and she told herself for a long time that she would never tell a future boyfriend, but she felt like she wanted to tell him everything about her, including her baggage. At first Savannah wasn't catching onto Dulci's hints, but when she did, she was honest and matter-of-fact.

"Absolutely not. If he asks if you've been pregnant down the road, you can answer however you want. What happened in the past is just that, the past."

Dulci nodded. Savannah was right. Telling him would be death to their short relationship.

"Christ. I've never been this girl. I've never cared about labels or exclusivity. What's happening to me?" She was driving herself insane.

"Aww. Just talk to him. Feel him out. Trust me. He was asking about Henry for a good reason."

"Savannah, if he's into me, why hasn't he called? He's been gone for two days and I've heard nothing from him, not even a measly text! Oh my god. Listen to me." Dulci laughed at herself and her desperation. If she didn't laugh, she'd cry.

"He must've gotten a lot better with the sex," Savannah teased as the two started eating their entrees.

"You have not idea," Dulci sighed as she smiled brightly, thinking about the last night they were together and the more than satisfying quickly in the shower before he left for the road trip.

A couple hours later, after a much needed girl talk, Dulci walked into her house. She'd forgotten her phone on her bathroom vanity before she left to meet Savannah, and hoped Sidney had attempted to contact her while she was gone. Hitting the home button, she smiled with relief as she saw he tried to call and text. Changing quickly, she settled into bed for an early morning before opening his text message.

**Away games suck when you have a beautiful girl waiting for you at home. I miss you.**


	16. Chapter 16

"When did you graduate vet school?"

Dulci felt like she was on a job interview and she was starting to sweat. The questions seemed standard, formal, and forced, as if they were asked to all of Sidney's potential significant others, or friends as he called her. Every one of Dulci's responses was met with a stone cold face and a "hmm," or a nod. If Dulci had difficulty reading Sidney, she sure as hell couldn't read his father.

"I graduated in 2012. I moved to Pittsburgh shortly after," Dulci explained as she took an uneasy bite of the dinner she prepared for Sidney and his family. Shortly before she left Sidney's house earlier that morning to run errands, Sidney was boasting about her cooking abilities and asked if she could make dinner for the four of them. She decided it would be a way to see more of him and to check on Sam later that evening.

"What did you graduate from?"

"Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. It's part of Virginia Polytechnic Institute. I attended undergrad there as well. I'm a Hokie through and through." She took a large gulp of Pinot Grigio hoping that the inquisition would end soon or that someone could steer the subject away from her. At the same time, she felt Sidney's hand graze from her knee to her mid thigh before taking up residence there. At first, she thought he was trying to make her squirm in front of his parents, getting her hot and bothered at the dinner table. But as he gave her leg a few light rubs, it seemed innocent and concerning. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it, praying he would understand the gesture as a cry for help. He did advice her to tell him when his father was becoming unbearable.

"So dad, did you watch the New York-Phili game?"

As the two men started discussing the ins and outs of the game, Dulci tried to listen, but she couldn't comprehend anything that was said because she was stuck in her own head. She was so elated that Sidney took her cue that she was uncomfortable and moved the dinner conversation away from her. She stared admiringly at him as he talked animatedly about other teams in the league, some that she'd never heard of. She remembered him telling her how sexy it was for a woman to be passionate about what she loves, and the same could be said for him. She adored how intense he could get, speaking with his hands occasionally. She noticed that when he was taking in information, he would slowly nod his head up and down in understanding. And then there was his handsome smile that one contagious, and his lips. Dulci caught herself gawking at his mouth, the way it moved, how plump and slightly chapped his lips were. When she thought about the way he used it pleasurably on her body, she lowered her head and smiled, lost in her own moment. Without missing a beat or evening breaking his concentration with Troy, he laced his fingers between hers, rubbing small soothing circles between her thumb and pointer fingers. She was so entranced with him that she didn't hear Trina addressing her.

"Dulci? Dear?"

"I'm sorry. Must've been daydreaming," Dulci subtly shook her head, slightly embarrassed at how much she felt like an adolescent longing for a crush.

"I was asking if you would like more wine?" Trina started pouring Dulci another glass before she even responded. She would eventually have to drive home. While Sidney made it obvious to her that he wanted her to stay, she couldn't while his parents were staying there, regardless of the size of his house.

"Don't worry, honey. There are plenty of extra rooms if you need to stay," Trina said in a hushed voice so the men didn't hear.

"We'll see." She didn't want Trina or Troy to think she was sexually involved with their son, her friend. Plus, she rarely got to spend quality time with her own family. She didn't know how often his parents would make the trip from Canada, but she wanted them to spend together. Sidney must've been eavesdropping because he squeezed Dulci's hand after his mother's comment.

"And, you must give me this recipe. It was delicious! What's the sauce?"

"Absolutely! It's a red chili paste. It's easy to make and you can make it spicier depending on your taste. And, it's good on just about ever meat imaginable." Dulci was silently thankful that Trina was so amiable to her. She made Dulci feel more than welcome into their family even though they'd only met ten hours before.

"So, Dulci, where do you work?" Troy brought his frosty gaze back to Dulci.

"At a local hospital about thirty minutes from here. It's a private small animal practice that also sees emergencies on a daily basis." She felt like she had to give out more information than necessary to appease him.

"Her dream is to open her own clinic," Sidney finished her answer for her. Again, she was in awe of him. He remembered things that were important to her that she'd forgotten she'd even told him.

"That's a pretty grandiose goal for such a young woman. Do you have any business experience?"

"It wouldn't be anytime soon. Down the road in ten years or so, I'd like to open a clinic that specializes in rehabilitation, orthopedics, and geriatric medicine. It's just a dream of mine." Dulci looked away, suddenly feeling ashamed that she had big aspirations. How could he make her feel so small when his son shot higher than she ever had? She was starting to get annoyed that he couldn't pay her one small compliment or any positive feed back at all.

"I'm assuming that starting a clinic is just as expensive as opening any business. Would you be able to finance this business venture yourself?"

"I haven't really looked into the financial aspect of opening my own hospital. My brother works in business and financing, so if I decide to go that route, I'm sure he would be glad to help me." Dulci tried her hardest to speak as pleasantly as possible given that she wanted to tell him off. She could be filthy rich for all he knew, able to successfully start her own business with flying colors.

"That's good to hear. I was just curious as to whether you were saving money or looking to find a wealthy benefactor," Troy finished looking at Sidney. At first, Dulci didn't know how to respond. Was he insinuation that she would try and use Sid's money to open her hospital?

"Dad." Sidney's jaw was clenched. His tone was more than a warning.

"Like I said, it's just a dream of mine. I would be fine if it never came to fruition." Dulci finished her third glass of wine. If Troy wanted to be a prick, she wouldn't go down without at least standing her ground and smiling as she did it.

"I'm going to go clean up the kitchen. Excuse me." Dulci let go of Sidney's hand to leave the table. When she looked at him, he was giving his father a frightening look. As she walked away, she could hear Sidney asking why he always did this. To get her mind off of the less than appealing dinner conversation, she busied herself with dishes.

"Don't worry about him. He'll come around. He's very protective of Sidney," Trina comforted her, taking the dishes out of the strainer to hand dry them.

"It's ok. I understand where he's coming from," Dulci smiled at Trina. He just didn't have to be a royal dick about it. The two ladies carried on a light conversation about cooking.

"How did the peppers turn out?" Trina asked keeping her eyes on her task.

"Really well. Although, it was entertaining watching someone try to crumble sausage with the synthetic casing still on," Dulci said trying not to giggle.

"I know. He told me. He was embarrassed about it. He really wanted to impress you. He was never much of a cook. Well, that and he was never home enough to learn."

Trina gave Dulci Sidney's brief childhood history about leaving home at such a young age.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Too much wine. It was lovely meeting you today. Thank you for taking care of Sam. And thank you for the delicious dinner. Intelligent and knows how to cook," Trina praised as she hugged Dulci.

"Maybe I'll see you in the morning?"

"Perhaps," Dulci answered with a nod.

As Trina walked away, Dulci blushed. What else had he told his mother about her? It was probably obvious that they were more than friends, but how awkward would it be if come morning, Trina checked all the guest bedrooms and Dulci was nowhere to be found except lying naked in bed with her son? If she stayed, which she desperately wanted to, it would be the first time in four days that she and Sidney would be alone together. She craved him more than she cared to admit. Just the thought of him touching her gave her butterflies in the best possible way. But, she couldn't have sex with him when his parents were around, and she promised herself that no matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't.

"Need any help?" Sidney interrupted her as she scrubbed the stove.

"I'm ok. You should go spend time with your family," Dulci gestured toward the kitchen door with her rag.

"Well my dad is on a business call, and my mom just told you she was going to bed." As he settled against the counter, he rubbed his eyes. Throughout dinner, she could tell he was tired, and with a full belly of a Thai inspired dinner, she could only imagine how sleepy he felt.

"You look exhausted. Maybe you should go to bed," Dulci suggested as she packed up the leftovers.

"And miss out on time with you after four days? I don't think so," he smiled drowsily at her.

"Come watch TV with me," he said with a yawn.

Once they lounged comfortably on his plush oversized couch, Dulci thought for sure Sid would be asleep within minutes, especially since he turned off most of the lights. He pulled her to him, kissing her temple before focusing back on the TV.

"What would you like to watch?" He looked at her, a little more alert than before.

"Whatever you want to watch is fine."

"You do realize that given a choice, I will watch something sports related, right?" He flashed her a crooked smile.

"Of course."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Sidney watched sports center and Dulci tried to keep up. He would explain different aspects of each sport to her, but it was a waste because she was falling asleep.

A little while later, he switched it to a west coast game, Anaheim verses Washington, and the Capitals were ahead by one goal in the first period.

"Look. Your team is actually winning," Sidney gently squeezed Dulci. When he got no response, he looked down to see her sound asleep, mouth slightly ajar. He smiled because of how adorable she looked in such a deep sleep. Thinking it would be more comfortable for her to lie down, he rotated the two of them so that he was one his back, stretched out horizontally, and Dulci was almost completely on top of him. He pulled a blanket on top of them and settled in to finish the game. When he checked a couple minutes later to see if she was still asleep, he noticed a large pool of drool on his chest. He knew Dulci would be mortified if she knew she'd drooled on him, but he didn't mind. It was one of those very intimate moments that couples share behind closed doors. It was real and uncensored.

By the third period, Sidney was silently rooting for Anaheim to win. He thought that by her movements, Dulci was starting to rouse from her sleep. He assumed at first it was from his quiet cursing at the TV, but when he heard her sniffle, he looked down at her. Her face looked tormented and dejected, and it was confirmed when a tear crossed the bridge of her nose onto his tee shirt. He figured maybe it was a fluke, but as the tears continued and she started mumbling, some of it was understandable, he contemplated on waking her up in case she was having a nightmare. He shook her arm softly at first, quietly calling her name. When she didn't respond, he called her name louder, making her open her eyes. She looked around, confused, before seeing him and looking away.

"I think you were having a bad dream," Sidney said, wiping the streams off of her cheeks with his thumb.

"I think you're right," she said trying to sit up, but one of her legs was stuck between Sidney and the couch.

"What were you dreaming?"

"I don't remember," she lied, wiping her eyes before successfully getting up.

"I'm going to get some water. Do you need anything?"

"No thanks." Sidney smiled at her before his eyes turned back to the TV.

She did have a nightmare. She dreamt that she walked in on Sidney and Carly talking. At first she couldn't understand their conversation, but when Carly touched his face and he leaned into it, she knew he would go back to Carly. Then she heard it. Carly never had the abortion. She was pregnant, keeping the baby, and wanted to become a family. When she told him, Sidney instinctively touched her stomach, and Dulci felt nauseous watching in on such a private moment. He looked happy. He picked her up and spun her around, ending in a loving kiss before asking Carly to marry him. When Dulci made her presence known, they two just looked at her like she was an annoyance. She asked Carly why she didn't have the abortion like she was supposed to, like she wanted. Dulci knew she sounded selfish, but she was hurt and rejected. Sidney told Dulci to leave and all of a sudden, she was being pulled out of the house as the two shared another loving moment before she woke up. As Dulci opened the bottled water and took a large drink, she hoped that dream never came true.

When she walked back into the living room, Sidney was sitting up with his feet resting on the coffee table. She sat next to him, but before long, he had pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him.

"Are you ok? Tell me what's going on up there," he asked pushing hair out of her eyes. She thought about telling him the truth that she dreamt he left her for a pregnant Carly, but she thought it would be too soon to talk about how she felt about him, not until he told her how he felt.

"Too much wine," seemed like a valid answer, and it was partially true.

"You and my mom did polish off a couple of bottles."

"Your mom is a very sweet lady. I like her," Dulci told him, telling the first solid truth since she woke up.

"That's good, because she likes you. Before she met you, she wanted to swap recipe repertoires." It made Dulci smile. He obviously talked about her to his mother.

"Gosh, I have hundred of recipes that I've made and loved," she gushed at the thought of her binders of clipped magazine recipes.

"And I can't wait to try them all," he said with a sexy smile as he pulled her down for a kiss. It was everything Dulci wanted in a kiss, especially after dreaming that he left her. She kissed him back with a fervor that told him she wanted him, needed him, and more importantly, that she loved him. Everything about him was intoxicating, his laugh, his smile, his body, his eyes, his smell, the way he exhaled loudly through his nose against her cheek as he kissed her, the way his hands found their way into the back of her jeans and underwear, slowly raking his nails against her butt cheeks as he pulled them out. It was such an erotic sensation, something he'd never done before, and she vocalized a small moan into his mouth as he did it again. Dulci was so aroused by the kissing that she didn't notice he snaked his hands under her shirt to unsnap her bra until she felt the loose fabric brushing against her nipples, making them perk up. He slowly pushed her shirt up around her neck so that he could take one of her nipples into his mouth while he used his fingers on the other, making all of the blood shoot to her clitoris.

Her resolve to abstain from sex while his parents were visiting flew out the window as his lips, tongue, and fingers worked magic on her. She just hoped his parents didn't interrupt. She grabbed the bottom of her blouse and pulled it out, throwing it behind her along with her bra. Without warning, he pushed himself off the couch, Dulci in his arms, and laid her down on top of the coffee table. He quickly unbuttoned her jeans and ripped them off before spreading her legs and licking her from canal to clit. Dulci slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her moans while he sucked her clit with everything he had. While his mouth was latched on, he would nod his head up and down, from side to side, in circles, focusing on her body language and sounds to figure out what she liked best. Delicately pushing two fingers in, quickly finding her swollen g-spot, he pushed up on it while he pushed his face down onto her with more pressure. She almost came off the table it felt so good, pressing both hands over her mouth fearing she would scream and wake his parents up. Leaning back, he replaced his mouth with his fingers, pressing circles into her clit hard and fast, causing her legs to tremble.

"Uncover your mouth," he demanded huskily.

Barely hearing him, she averted her eyes down to meet his. He eyes were fixed on hers as he continued. His entire upper body was flexed from the job he was doing on her, a hint of sweat starting to form from exertion and arousal.

"I want to hear you come," he told her as he pushed harder and faster. She put her hands down on each side of her, gripping the edge of the table for support.

"Suck my clit," she gasped out, and when he licked it while keeping eye contact before he sucked and groaned at the same time, she threw her head back and howled as he continued his activity through her orgasm. She was still coming down when he lifted her off of the table and onto the carpet. She couldn't say when he took his clothes off, but when he slowly pushed into her with his entire length, she gripped his back, hoping she didn't bruise or scrap him with her nails. Sidney emitted a long groan into her neck as he stilled himself for a moment, but it wasn't long before Dulci's ankles were resting on his shoulders as he hugged her thighs and started thrusting, slowly at first, enjoying how wet and warm she was, before picking up speed. He watched as she caressed her stomach up to her breasts before playing with them. He watched as she took one hand and licked her two fingers, and placed them on her own clit for rubbing. Taking one hand, he brushed his thumb over her nipple, wishing he could bend to put it in his mouth. He released her legs and pushed her knees into the carpet next to her shoulders as he continued to drive into her at a new angle.

"Oh my god, Sidney," she gasped as his dick continuously hit her g-spot like his fingers did. He felt the pressure start to build in her, more so than it had in the past, but he continued to drive her slowly across the carpet as he fucked her hard. He groaned as she came, literally pushing his dick out, but he used it for extra stimulation on her clit. Her whole body trembled as she finished coming, but before he could do anything, she was getting onto her knees and forcing him to lie on his back. He closed his eyes, thinking she was going to get on top, but instead felt a completely different sensation. Taken by surprise, he looked down to find her mouth on his dick, taking it all the way to the base until her nose was pressed into his pelvic bone.

"Fuuuccckkkk," he groaned loudly as she repeated the action, her hands running up and down his abdomen. Within a couple of minutes, he gave her the courtesy warning that he was going to come. Thinking that she would stop using her mouth and finish him off with a hand job, he was astonished that she continued sucking his dick.

"Dulci," he called her, not sure if she heard his warning, and when she shot her eyes up to meet his, gently sucking on the head before lowering completely back down to his pelvis, he came with a loud grunt, gripping her hair as he desperately tried not to fuck her face. She let him finish, feeling his abdominal muscles clench with every contraction, before crawling and lying next to him on the floor, both thoroughly exhausted and sexually satisfied.


	17. Chapter 17

"When did you graduate vet school?"

Dulci felt like she was on a job interview and she was starting to sweat. The questions seemed standard, formal, and forced, as if they were asked to all of Sidney's potential significant others, or friends as he called her. Every one of Dulci's responses was met with a stone cold face and a "hmm," or a nod. If Dulci had difficulty reading Sidney, she sure as hell couldn't read his father.

"I graduated in 2012. I moved to Pittsburgh shortly after," Dulci explained as she took an uneasy bite of the dinner she prepared for Sidney and his family. Shortly before she left Sidney's house earlier that morning to run errands, Sidney was boasting about her cooking abilities and asked if she could make dinner for the four of them. She decided it would be a way to see more of him and to check on Sam later that evening.

"What did you graduate from?"

"Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. It's part of Virginia Polytechnic Institute. I attended undergrad there as well. I'm a Hokie through and through." She took a large gulp of Pinot Grigio hoping that the inquisition would end soon or that someone could steer the subject away from her. At the same time, she felt Sidney's hand graze from her knee to her mid thigh before taking up residence there. At first, she thought he was trying to make her squirm in front of his parents, getting her hot and bothered at the dinner table. But as he gave her leg a few light rubs, it seemed innocent and concerning. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it, praying he would understand the gesture as a cry for help. He did advice her to tell him when his father was becoming unbearable.

"So dad, did you watch the New York-Phili game?"

As the two men started discussing the ins and outs of the game, Dulci tried to listen, but she couldn't comprehend anything that was said because she was stuck in her own head. She was so elated that Sidney took her cue that she was uncomfortable and moved the dinner conversation away from her. She stared admiringly at him as he talked animatedly about other teams in the league, some that she'd never heard of. She remembered him telling her how sexy it was for a woman to be passionate about what she loves, and the same could be said for him. She adored how intense he could get, speaking with his hands occasionally. She noticed that when he was taking in information, he would slowly nod his head up and down in understanding. And then there was his handsome smile that one contagious, and his lips. Dulci caught herself gawking at his mouth, the way it moved, how plump and slightly chapped his lips were. When she thought about the way he used it pleasurably on her body, she lowered her head and smiled, lost in her own moment. Without missing a beat or evening breaking his concentration with Troy, he laced his fingers between hers, rubbing small soothing circles between her thumb and pointer fingers. She was so entranced with him that she didn't hear Trina addressing her.

"Dulci? Dear?"

"I'm sorry. Must've been daydreaming," Dulci subtly shook her head, slightly embarrassed at how much she felt like an adolescent longing for a crush.

"I was asking if you would like more wine?" Trina started pouring Dulci another glass before she even responded. She would eventually have to drive home. While Sidney made it obvious to her that he wanted her to stay, she couldn't while his parents were staying there, regardless of the size of his house.

"Don't worry, honey. There are plenty of extra rooms if you need to stay," Trina said in a hushed voice so the men didn't hear.

"We'll see." She didn't want Trina or Troy to think she was sexually involved with their son, her friend. Plus, she rarely got to spend quality time with her own family. She didn't know how often his parents would make the trip from Canada, but she wanted them to spend together. Sidney must've been eavesdropping because he squeezed Dulci's hand after his mother's comment.

"And, you must give me this recipe. It was delicious! What's the sauce?"

"Absolutely! It's a red chili paste. It's easy to make and you can make it spicier depending on your taste. And, it's good on just about ever meat imaginable." Dulci was silently thankful that Trina was so amiable to her. She made Dulci feel more than welcome into their family even though they'd only met ten hours before.

"So, Dulci, where do you work?" Troy brought his frosty gaze back to Dulci.

"At a local hospital about thirty minutes from here. It's a private small animal practice that also sees emergencies on a daily basis." She felt like she had to give out more information than necessary to appease him.

"Her dream is to open her own clinic," Sidney finished her answer for her. Again, she was in awe of him. He remembered things that were important to her that she'd forgotten she'd even told him.

"That's a pretty grandiose goal for such a young woman. Do you have any business experience?"

"It wouldn't be anytime soon. Down the road in ten years or so, I'd like to open a clinic that specializes in rehabilitation, orthopedics, and geriatric medicine. It's just a dream of mine." Dulci looked away, suddenly feeling ashamed that she had big aspirations. How could he make her feel so small when his son shot higher than she ever had? She was starting to get annoyed that he couldn't pay her one small compliment or any positive feed back at all.

"I'm assuming that starting a clinic is just as expensive as opening any business. Would you be able to finance this business venture yourself?"

"I haven't really looked into the financial aspect of opening my own hospital. My brother works in business and financing, so if I decide to go that route, I'm sure he would be glad to help me." Dulci tried her hardest to speak as pleasantly as possible given that she wanted to tell him off. She could be filthy rich for all he knew, able to successfully start her own business with flying colors.

"That's good to hear. I was just curious as to whether you were saving money or looking to find a wealthy benefactor," Troy finished looking at Sidney. At first, Dulci didn't know how to respond. Was he insinuation that she would try and use Sid's money to open her hospital?

"Dad." Sidney's jaw was clenched. His tone was more than a warning.

"Like I said, it's just a dream of mine. I would be fine if it never came to fruition." Dulci finished her third glass of wine. If Troy wanted to be a prick, she wouldn't go down without at least standing her ground and smiling as she did it.

"I'm going to go clean up the kitchen. Excuse me." Dulci let go of Sidney's hand to leave the table. When she looked at him, he was giving his father a frightening look. As she walked away, she could hear Sidney asking why he always did this. To get her mind off of the less than appealing dinner conversation, she busied herself with dishes.

"Don't worry about him. He'll come around. He's very protective of Sidney," Trina comforted her, taking the dishes out of the strainer to hand dry them.

"It's ok. I understand where he's coming from," Dulci smiled at Trina. He just didn't have to be a royal dick about it. The two ladies carried on a light conversation about cooking.

"How did the peppers turn out?" Trina asked keeping her eyes on her task.

"Really well. Although, it was entertaining watching someone try to crumble sausage with the synthetic casing still on," Dulci said trying not to giggle.

"I know. He told me. He was embarrassed about it. He really wanted to impress you. He was never much of a cook. Well, that and he was never home enough to learn."

Trina gave Dulci Sidney's brief childhood history about leaving home at such a young age.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Too much wine. It was lovely meeting you today. Thank you for taking care of Sam. And thank you for the delicious dinner. Intelligent and knows how to cook," Trina praised as she hugged Dulci.

"Maybe I'll see you in the morning?"

"Perhaps," Dulci answered with a nod.

As Trina walked away, Dulci blushed. What else had he told his mother about her? It was probably obvious that they were more than friends, but how awkward would it be if come morning, Trina checked all the guest bedrooms and Dulci was nowhere to be found except lying naked in bed with her son? If she stayed, which she desperately wanted to, it would be the first time in four days that she and Sidney would be alone together. She craved him more than she cared to admit. Just the thought of him touching her gave her butterflies in the best possible way. But, she couldn't have sex with him when his parents were around, and she promised herself that no matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't.

"Need any help?" Sidney interrupted her as she scrubbed the stove.

"I'm ok. You should go spend time with your family," Dulci gestured toward the kitchen door with her rag.

"Well my dad is on a business call, and my mom just told you she was going to bed." As he settled against the counter, he rubbed his eyes. Throughout dinner, she could tell he was tired, and with a full belly of a Thai inspired dinner, she could only imagine how sleepy he felt.

"You look exhausted. Maybe you should go to bed," Dulci suggested as she packed up the leftovers.

"And miss out on time with you after four days? I don't think so," he smiled drowsily at her.

"Come watch TV with me," he said with a yawn.

Once they lounged comfortably on his plush oversized couch, Dulci thought for sure Sid would be asleep within minutes, especially since he turned off most of the lights. He pulled her to him, kissing her temple before focusing back on the TV.

"What would you like to watch?" He looked at her, a little more alert than before.

"Whatever you want to watch is fine."

"You do realize that given a choice, I will watch something sports related, right?" He flashed her a crooked smile.

"Of course."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Sidney watched sports center and Dulci tried to keep up. He would explain different aspects of each sport to her, but it was a waste because she was falling asleep.

A little while later, he switched it to a west coast game, Anaheim verses Washington, and the Capitals were ahead by one goal in the first period.

"Look. Your team is actually winning," Sidney gently squeezed Dulci. When he got no response, he looked down to see her sound asleep, mouth slightly ajar. He smiled because of how adorable she looked in such a deep sleep. Thinking it would be more comfortable for her to lie down, he rotated the two of them so that he was one his back, stretched out horizontally, and Dulci was almost completely on top of him. He pulled a blanket on top of them and settled in to finish the game. When he checked a couple minutes later to see if she was still asleep, he noticed a large pool of drool on his chest. He knew Dulci would be mortified if she knew she'd drooled on him, but he didn't mind. It was one of those very intimate moments that couples share behind closed doors. It was real and uncensored.

By the third period, Sidney was silently rooting for Anaheim to win. He thought that by her movements, Dulci was starting to rouse from her sleep. He assumed at first it was from his quiet cursing at the TV, but when he heard her sniffle, he looked down at her. Her face looked tormented and dejected, and it was confirmed when a tear crossed the bridge of her nose onto his tee shirt. He figured maybe it was a fluke, but as the tears continued and she started mumbling, some of it was understandable, he contemplated on waking her up in case she was having a nightmare. He shook her arm softly at first, quietly calling her name. When she didn't respond, he called her name louder, making her open her eyes. She looked around, confused, before seeing him and looking away.

"I think you were having a bad dream," Sidney said, wiping the streams off of her cheeks with his thumb.

"I think you're right," she said trying to sit up, but one of her legs was stuck between Sidney and the couch.

"What were you dreaming?"

"I don't remember," she lied, wiping her eyes before successfully getting up.

"I'm going to get some water. Do you need anything?"

"No thanks." Sidney smiled at her before his eyes turned back to the TV.

She did have a nightmare. She dreamt that she walked in on Sidney and Carly talking. At first she couldn't understand their conversation, but when Carly touched his face and he leaned into it, she knew he would go back to Carly. Then she heard it. Carly never had the abortion. She was pregnant, keeping the baby, and wanted to become a family. When she told him, Sidney instinctively touched her stomach, and Dulci felt nauseous watching in on such a private moment. He looked happy. He picked her up and spun her around, ending in a loving kiss before asking Carly to marry him. When Dulci made her presence known, they two just looked at her like she was an annoyance. She asked Carly why she didn't have the abortion like she was supposed to, like she wanted. Dulci knew she sounded selfish, but she was hurt and rejected. Sidney told Dulci to leave and all of a sudden, she was being pulled out of the house as the two shared another loving moment before she woke up. As Dulci opened the bottled water and took a large drink, she hoped that dream never came true.

When she walked back into the living room, Sidney was sitting up with his feet resting on the coffee table. She sat next to him, but before long, he had pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him.

"Are you ok? Tell me what's going on up there," he asked pushing hair out of her eyes. She thought about telling him the truth that she dreamt he left her for a pregnant Carly, but she thought it would be too soon to talk about how she felt about him, not until he told her how he felt.

"Too much wine," seemed like a valid answer, and it was partially true.

"You and my mom did polish off a couple of bottles."

"Your mom is a very sweet lady. I like her," Dulci told him, telling the first solid truth since she woke up.

"That's good, because she likes you. Before she met you, she wanted to swap recipe repertoires." It made Dulci smile. He obviously talked about her to his mother.

"Gosh, I have hundred of recipes that I've made and loved," she gushed at the thought of her binders of clipped magazine recipes.

"And I can't wait to try them all," he said with a sexy smile as he pulled her down for a kiss. It was everything Dulci wanted in a kiss, especially after dreaming that he left her. She kissed him back with a fervor that told him she wanted him, needed him, and more importantly, that she loved him. Everything about him was intoxicating, his laugh, his smile, his body, his eyes, his smell, the way he exhaled loudly through his nose against her cheek as he kissed her, the way his hands found their way into the back of her jeans and underwear, slowly raking his nails against her butt cheeks as he pulled them out. It was such an erotic sensation, something he'd never done before, and she vocalized a small moan into his mouth as he did it again. Dulci was so aroused by the kissing that she didn't notice he snaked his hands under her shirt to unsnap her bra until she felt the loose fabric brushing against her nipples, making them perk up. He slowly pushed her shirt up around her neck so that he could take one of her nipples into his mouth while he used his fingers on the other, making all of the blood shoot to her clitoris.

Her resolve to abstain from sex while his parents were visiting flew out the window as his lips, tongue, and fingers worked magic on her. She just hoped his parents didn't interrupt. She grabbed the bottom of her blouse and pulled it out, throwing it behind her along with her bra. Without warning, he pushed himself off the couch, Dulci in his arms, and laid her down on top of the coffee table. He quickly unbuttoned her jeans and ripped them off before spreading her legs and licking her from canal to clit. Dulci slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her moans while he sucked her clit with everything he had. While his mouth was latched on, he would nod his head up and down, from side to side, in circles, focusing on her body language and sounds to figure out what she liked best. Delicately pushing two fingers in, quickly finding her swollen g-spot, he pushed up on it while he pushed his face down onto her with more pressure. She almost came off the table it felt so good, pressing both hands over her mouth fearing she would scream and wake his parents up. Leaning back, he replaced his mouth with his fingers, pressing circles into her clit hard and fast, causing her legs to tremble.

"Uncover your mouth," he demanded huskily.

Barely hearing him, she averted her eyes down to meet his. He eyes were fixed on hers as he continued. His entire upper body was flexed from the job he was doing on her, a hint of sweat starting to form from exertion and arousal.

"I want to hear you come," he told her as he pushed harder and faster. She put her hands down on each side of her, gripping the edge of the table for support.

"Suck my clit," she gasped out, and when he licked it while keeping eye contact before he sucked and groaned at the same time, she threw her head back and howled as he continued his activity through her orgasm. She was still coming down when he lifted her off of the table and onto the carpet. She couldn't say when he took his clothes off, but when he slowly pushed into her with his entire length, she gripped his back, hoping she didn't bruise or scrap him with her nails. Sidney emitted a long groan into her neck as he stilled himself for a moment, but it wasn't long before Dulci's ankles were resting on his shoulders as he hugged her thighs and started thrusting, slowly at first, enjoying how wet and warm she was, before picking up speed. He watched as she caressed her stomach up to her breasts before playing with them. He watched as she took one hand and licked her two fingers, and placed them on her own clit for rubbing. Taking one hand, he brushed his thumb over her nipple, wishing he could bend to put it in his mouth. He released her legs and pushed her knees into the carpet next to her shoulders as he continued to drive into her at a new angle.

"Oh my god, Sidney," she gasped as his dick continuously hit her g-spot like his fingers did. He felt the pressure start to build in her, more so than it had in the past, but he continued to drive her slowly across the carpet as he fucked her hard. He groaned as she came, literally pushing his dick out, but he used it for extra stimulation on her clit. Her whole body trembled as she finished coming, but before he could do anything, she was getting onto her knees and forcing him to lie on his back. He closed his eyes, thinking she was going to get on top, but instead felt a completely different sensation. Taken by surprise, he looked down to find her mouth on his dick, taking it all the way to the base until her nose was pressed into his pelvic bone.

"Fuuuccckkkk," he groaned loudly as she repeated the action, her hands running up and down his abdomen. Within a couple of minutes, he gave her the courtesy warning that he was going to come. Thinking that she would stop using her mouth and finish him off with a hand job, he was astonished that she continued sucking his dick.

"Dulci," he called her, not sure if she heard his warning, and when she shot her eyes up to meet his, gently sucking on the head before lowering completely back down to his pelvis, he came with a loud grunt, gripping her hair as he desperately tried not to fuck her face. She let him finish, feeling his abdominal muscles clench with every contraction, before crawling and lying next to him on the floor, both thoroughly exhausted and sexually satisfied.


	18. Chapter 18

Dulci woke up hot and sticky. She could feel the sweat beading down her back between her and Sidney. He produced more warmth than a heat blanket, and when she tried to peel herself out if his strong arms, he seemed to hold tighter. After a little bit of a struggle, she freed herself from his sleepy grip. She desperately wanted and needed a shower. After closing the bathroom door to have a little privacy and to leave Sidney undisturbed, she turned on the shower and made the water as hot as she could physically stand it. She stood there for a few moments and let the hot water run down the front portion of her body, enjoying how it soothed her. Grabbing the bottle of Sid's body wash, she opened the top and took a long whiff like it was a bouquet of flowers. She used it, happy that she would spend her long busy day smelling like him. When she turned to wet her back, her blissful shower ended.

"Oww!" She hurriedly stepped out of the stream of water, feeling her back, trying to find the source of discomfort. Her back felt raw by her shoulder blades and on the small of her back. Gently rubbing it, she tried to think what would cause such a reaction like that on such odd places on her back.

"Oh," she remembered, smiling as she bit her lip. She had rug burn from the previous evening in the living room. The memory made her like an adolescent having sex on the floor, but she didn't care because it was spontaneous, erotic, and oh so good, and she couldn't help but giggle at the thought.

"What are you giggling about?" Sid opened the glass door to his oversized luxurious shower, catching Dulci off guard. She hadn't heard him come in. She instantly covered what she could of body.

"I have seen you naked, you know," he smiled at her before kissing her tenderly on the lips.

"I know. You just scared me. That and when I'm naked in front of you, there's usually minimal lighting." _And I'm not perfect like the rest of the girls you've probably been with_.

"That doesn't mean I can't see everything," he said before kissing her again and turning to stick his face in the stream. When she thought about it, he was right, and that they'd had sex in the shower before. The first time they'd had sex was mid afternoon. Even worse was the cluster of their first encounter. Dulci thought about herself compared to Carly. She wasn't very tall, she had stretch marks on her hips, breasts, and inner thighs from being heavier during undergrad, she thought her boobs were saggier than she should be for twenty-eight with no children. Within an instant of thinking it, she was face to face with Sid, inches between the two, looking very sincere.

"I think you're perfect," was all he said before kissing her passionately, wrapping his arms around her back, digging his finger in like he was afraid she'd vanish into thin air. As the kissing and kneading intensified, He could feel and hear her wince as he dug his fingers into her shoulder blade. He slowly turned her around.

"What happened?" he asked with concern, lightly touching the irritated skin. She turn back with a dark, desirous smile on her lips.

"You. Last night on the carpet in your living room."

"Shit, I'm really sor..." Dulci didn't let him continue. Instead, she placed a couple of fingers on his lips.

"I liked it," she whispered before kissing him gently but fully, and it didn't take long before he matched her fervor kiss for kiss.

He picked her up, encouraging her to lock her ankles behind his back. She thought he was going to fuck her against the shower wall, but instead her turned the shower off and walked the two of them out toward his bed.

"What are you doing?" She asked, confused that they were dripping water headed towards his bed, but not concerned enough to stop kissing him or let him answer.

"Water is a terrible lubricant," he said after he dropped her onto his bed. He climbed on top of her before pulling her on top of him. She sat up, straddling him, feeling his erection under her. Without breaking their kiss, Dulci reached between them, holding his dick in place, and slowly lower herself on top of him. Dulci enjoyed watching his head fall back in pleasure. She took the opportunity to nip and suck at the flesh of his neck, slowly moving back and forth on his lap, eventually meeting his mouth as they kissed each other deeply.

"Sid? Are you awake?"

They both froze, wide eyed, staring at the door as his father knocked relentlessly.

"Please tell me it's locked," Dulci whispered in a panic, climbing off of his lap. He already questioned her motive for being Sidney's friend or girlfriend. She didn't want him to barge in and see her having sex with his son.

"Hang on!" Sidney called out to his dad as Dulci made a beeline for the bathroom, forgetting to grab her clothes from their pile on his chair.

Once he was dressed, hoping his underwear and shorts would hide his erection, Sidney opened the door, getting a stern, disappointed look from his dad after he saw Dulci's clothes.

"Pat has been trying to get a hold of you all morning for renegotiation with Reebok. Is getting your dick wet more important than your endorsements?"

Dulci tried to listen through the door as she wrapped a towel around her naked body. She couldn't make out distinct words at first, but she could hear Sid loud and clear.

"First of all, what I do in my own home with my girlfriend is my fucking business. Second, I just got out of the shower."

"Yeah. You were in the shower with her. Don't let her distract you."

"I'm not discussing this right now while she's in the bathroom. I'll be down in a minute," Sidney finished before forcefully shutting the door.

While she was aloof as to why he was cold to her last night, she understood his demeanor after that comment. How could he think Dulci was a distraction? He didn't even know her, let alone have any credibility in making accusations about her. She quickly busied herself with brushing her teeth as Sid walked into the bathroom.

"I'm sorry about him. His biggest flaw is that he's so overbearing and protective when it comes to my career. It's like he's living vicariously through me," he complained as he pulled out his own toothbrush.

"I think it's a father-son thing. My dad pushes my brother very hard as well," Dulci added with a shrug.

"He tries to fucking dictate my personal life. What the fuck is wrong with having a girlfriend?" Sidney was borderline shouting, throwing his hands up in question. Dulci, while she wanted to sympathize with him, couldn't bite back the gigantic smile on her face when he reference Dulci as his girlfriend in front of her.

"Maybe it's me?" Dulci suggested, readjusting her towel around her chest. "Maybe he doesn't approve?"

"No. It's everyone. He's actually been pretty tame with you, believe it or not," he reassured her before gazing toward her chest as she fumbled with the towel. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him as the towel dropped around her ankles. While she wanted to kiss him and continue their moment on the bed, she also wanted to prove his dad wrong.

"You shouldn't keep your dad waiting," she said between kisses.

"He already dislikes me because I'm a distraction."

"You're not a distraction. Forget what he says. Besides, at the end of the day it's who my mom likes, and she loves you," he finished with a quick kiss before leaving the bathroom.

Once she was dressed, she headed toward the kitchen. She heard someone in the kitchen and hoped Trina would be making breakfast. As she entered the doorway, she was met with Troy's less than amiable gaze. She had two options, she could turn and walk away, obviously avoiding him, or she could try to make him tolerate her, maybe one day actually liking her. She wanted to become a fixture in Sid's life, and being tactful with his dad was something she'd have to do.

"Good Morning," Dulci said meekly, not really expecting a reply.

"Morning." Although he sounded unenthused to see her, Dulci was surprised she got a response. Walking into the foyer, she picked up her oversized purse she used for toting around her textbooks. When she walked back into the kitchen, she sat down at the kitchen island across from Troy.

"Will it bother you if I look over some notes in here?"

He shook his head no before going back to his iPad. Dulci hoped it wasn't _that_ iPad.

"Can I get you some coffee?"

Dulci paused, not looking up from her books right away. She wanted him to ask again, just to make sure she wasn't hearing things.

"Dulci?"

She looked at him, trying to feign an I'm-so-engaged-in-my-books-that-I- didn't-hear-you look.

"Can I offer you some coffee?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

While she pretended to be looking over old notes, she secretly watched as he fixed her a cup. She knew it was puerile, but she half expected him to spit in it.

"Cream? Sugar?"

"Just cream, thanks."

He set the mug in front of her and returned to his seat. The two sat in silence reading their own material.

"What are you looking over?" Troy interrupted.

"I have a cystotomy to do today and I just wanted to look over my notes. It's been a while since I've done one." When she finished explaining, she looked up to find him looking confused but fully intrigued, leaning forward with his elbows on the island.

"Sorry. Bladder stone removal."

"Do you enjoy doing surgery?"

"When I first started vet school, I wanted to be a board certified surgeon. I love it. But I grew to love orthopedics and geriatric medicine more. Someone has to look after the older guys," she smiled nervously, aware that she was rambling.

"What was the most difficult surgery you've done?"

"Oh wow. Let me think. Probably the gunshot wound patient I did a couple months ago. She was bleeding internally, so I had to find the source and stop it. She had perforations to her intestine in a couple of places that needed suturing. I had to resect some of her liver from damage, and find the pellet. She almost didn't make it. She had to be revived twice."

"Sounds pretty intense."

"It was. But she made a full recovery," Dulci finished before turning her attention back to her notes.

"I'll leave you to it," Troy said as he placed his cup in the sink and left the kitchen.

As Dulci was putting on her vest and scarf, Sidney met her at the front door, pulling her into his arms.

"Can I come over tonight?" She whispered into hair.

"Only if you bring some of that sushi with you," she smiled at him.

"It's a done deal. Have a nice day at work," he said before kissing her goodbye.

Dulci was half way through her shift when the tone of the hospital shifted. As she walked through the lab toward the reception area to drop off some charts, she could hear people frantically whispering in the empty exam rooms, looking into the reception area. Thinking nothing of it, she walked toward the "to be filed" bin behind the front desk. She dropped them off, and when she turned toward the client, she smiled at the man who was handing over his credit card. He had a huge grin on his face with prominent white teeth. When the two made eye contact, Dulci smiled as she walked back to her desk. She noticed that the man had an accent, but she couldn't place it off hand. Everyone was still whispering, but Dulci chose to ignore it. She had to document all of her charts on time or else she'd be late getting home to see Sidney.

"Dr. Hammett, your surgery discharge is in room four," Alyssa poked her head around the door.

"Thanks Alyssa."

Pulling the chart out of the cubby on the door, she could feel everyone in the lab looking at her. Brushing it off, she walked into the exam room to find the grinning man again.

"Good afternoon. I'm Dr. Hammett. I don't believe we've met," Dulci greeted as she extended her hand.

"Marc-Andre Fleury. You can call me Marc," he returned the gesture.

"I feel like we've already met. Both Vero and Sid have said nothing but good things about you. Well, mostly Sid. Its nice to put a face to a name," he said with a cheeky grin.

"That's very nice of him. Hopefully I don't disappoint." Dulci could feel butterflies in her stomach. If guys talked like girls did about their love lives, then Marc knew a lot about her. She discussed the discharge instructions, laughing whenever Marc cracked a joke. She liked him instantly.

"When is your next evening off?" Marc interrupted their joking session. "Since you weren't able to come to the last get together, I figured Vero and I could have you and Sid over for dinner."

"That'd be lovely. Thanks."

"Have Sid pick a day where our schedules allow it. It was great meeting you. And thanks for fixing my boy," Marc said as he gathered his things to leave.

"You too. Let me know if you need anything for him."

"Good evening, Dulci! How are you, love?"

No sooner had Dulci walked into her house before Aggie, her cousin, face timed her.

"Hi Aggie! What are you doing awake? It's close to midnight in Norwich," Dulci questioned as she threw her bag and jacket on her bed.

"I can't sleep. I've been killing myself thinking about this bloody wedding. How've you been?"

"I'm great! I'll probably be changing at we talk. I'm expecting company. I hope you don't mind?" Dulci place her phone in its dock before disappearing into her bathroom.

"Oooh. What kind of company?" When Dulci returned to the phone, she saw Aggie wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"_That_ kind of company," Dulci counted with a naughty grin.

"You've been messing with this Henry fellow for quite some time." Although she knew Aggie meant nothing by it, hearing someone say Henry's name instead of Sidney's made her stomach turn. Thinking about what she had with Henry compared to how Sidney makes her feel was like oil and water. She felt kind of foolish that she deprived herself from being in a relationship for as long as she did.

"Actually, I'm actually seeing someone. At least I think we're together. His name is Sidney," she told Aggie as she held up two different bras, one black and lacy, the other a red satin push up. Aggie pointed to the red satin.

"He'd be a complete knob not to date you. What's he like?"

"Well, he's sweet, kind, honest, caring, intense. He takes my breath away," Dulci smiled feeling her face blush thinking about him. She hadn't even thought about telling Aggie the one distinguishing fact that most of North America knew him by. It didn't matter to Aggie, she didn't know anything about hockey.

"Aww. How lovely! Will you be bringing him to the wedding?"

"I hadn't thought about it. It's only been a little over a month since we've known each other. Besides, he's pretty much bound here until the summer." Dulci was perplexed as to what she should wear, something casual like jeans and a tee shirt or something more put together. She stared at her closet like it was a maze and didn't know where to start.

"Speaking of wedding, I'll need your input on a couple of things considering you're my maid of honor. We also need to discuss my hen party!"

The two talked briefly about bridesmaid dress colors, dresses, flowers, who not to invite in their family, hors d'oeuvres, main courses, open bar drinks, changing her venue site, and music choices.

"I don't understand how people plan these things for a living," Aggie huffed before yawning loudly.

"Aggie, go to sleep. You look exhausted and you have plenty of time before your wedding. I may be a six hour flight away, but I'll help you make sure its everything you dreamed it'd be," Dulci reassured her.

There was a knock at her front door. She instantly got butterflies and goose bumps. Aggie would be the first person in Dulci's family to meet Sid, even if it was only through face time.

"Is he there? I'm not going to bed until I see him," Aggie said excitedly, rubbing her palms together.

Dulci walked toward her front door, pausing momentarily to collect her nerves before eventually looking through her peephole.

"Fuck," Dulci hissed in a panic.

"What's wrong?" Aggie asked concerned.

"Aggie, I'll call you back." She hung up before Aggie could respond. She thought about ignoring the knocks and act like she wasn't home, except her car was sitting in the driveway and all of her house lights were on. However, the thought of Sidney getting there within the next couple of minutes would've been horribly uncomfortable and awkward. How could she possibly explain him being their when she hasn't spoken to him in weeks?

"Dulci, I know your home."

She had to confront this head on. Opening her door, she was faced with someone she didn't care to see any longer. She hadn't thought of him at all since the last time she'd seen him.

"You're alive. Why haven't I heard from you recently? Tuesday evenings aren't the same without you."

It was Henry.


	19. Chapter 19

"Henry, hi." She thought she was going to vomit, looking up and down her street for the familiar headlights. She was torn. One the one hand, she didn't have to explain anything to Henry as to why she stopped calling. But, considering that Sid could've already been in her house, she wanted to give Henry a reason not to show up unannounced again.

"Are you avoiding me?" Henry asked as he started to walk into her house. Dulci quickly intervened, stopping him before he fully entered.

"Look, I know I haven't spoken to you recently, but we can't do this anymore," she pointed between the two of them.

"I've met someone and I really like him." She looked Henry dead in the eyes hoping he could read the desperation on her face. He had to leave and it had to be quick.

"You're dating him?"

Dulci nodded.

"Oh." His usual dark and seductive demeanor vanished. He looked dumbfounded. She could read his face and body language like a book. He straightened up, surprised by the turn of events. His face looked bewildered like he was speechless. He opened his mouth to say something a few times but nothing seemed to come out.

"Oh. Ok." He was registering everything and what it would mean. They would no longer see each other for sex. She was no longer physically or emotionally available.

"I'm sorry. I should've called," he said as he stood in front of her, hands shoved in his jacket pockets, reluctant to leave. She watched as he slowly turned and walked toward his car, slumped slightly, almost looking defeated. When he turned around, his eyes met hers one last time before he got into his car. He looked devastated, which Dulci couldn't understand. Their arrangement would've ended eventually, so why did he seem so upset?

Shaking her head as he drove away, she slowly closed her door and locked it, leaning against, exhaling slowly, glad she got Henry to leave before Sid arrived. As if on cue, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Sam popped up on he screen, a picture she set a while ago before she ever thought she'd go anywhere with Sid.

"Hi," she answered as she walked into her room to finish getting ready.

"Hey. I hate to call at the last minute, but my assistant scheduled my meeting at the wrong time tonight, so I'll be late." He sounded annoyed, and Dulci could understand.

"It's ok. I'll be here all night," she tried to sound understanding and sexy at the same time, but she was slightly disappointed. She slumped onto her bed before falling backwards.

"I'm sorry. I'll be like an hour at the latest."

"It's ok, really. Take your time."

"I can't take my time. I want to finish what we started this morning," sidney said in a deep, husky voice.

"Well then hurry up and get here," Dulci giggled, already feeling aroused at the thought of being with him.

"As soon as I can," he said with a sigh.

"I'll be waiting patiently," Dulci laughed knowing he was bored with whatever meeting he was in.

"What are you wearing?" He whispered.

"I thought you were in a meeting?" She chortled, concerned that people could hear his indecent question.

"I just a visual to get me through the bullshit."

"Jeans and a burgundy knit sweater." Her response came out like a question because she didn't think her outfit was particularly sexy, but it was comfortable and the neckline dropped low.

"You love your sweaters," he teased.

"Yes I do. And if you get here soon, maybe you can even take it off," Dulci said seductively, biting her lip at how foolish she felt talking dirty while he was at a professional meeting.

"Jesus. You're gonna kill me," he groaned.

"Hey. You were the one asking for a visual," she chided.

"And visual I got. I've gotta go. I promise to be there soon."

"I'll be waiting, with or without clothes."

"Bye, Dulci."

"See you soon."

After lying on her bed imagining what she and Sid would do to one another, she decided to get up and open a bottle of wine and catch up on some television.

A little more than a quarter through the episode of House Hunters, her phone buzzed, alerting her of a text message. While she deleted his number from her phone weeks ago, she recognized his number.

**I'm happy you've found someone. You deserve someone who can give you the world.**

Dulci was taken aback, rereading the message several times. Why would he say something so emotional as if they were breaking up or ending a sordid love affair? What was worse was that she didn't know how to respond, or if she should respond at all.

**Thank you.**

Within a couple of seconds, her phone was vibrating again. She hoped it would be sidney telling her he was on his way, but it was from Henry.

**Don't be a stranger.**

She decided she wouldn't respond. They weren't even friends outside of their beneficial relationship. They were acquaintances through mutual friends who wanted the same thing from one another. She wasn't exactly sure what he did for a living, and she never cared. She knew almost nothing about him.

Two shows later and an hour of waiting, Dulci decided to change her bed sheets to something softer and more sensual. She chose eggplant sheets underneath her pewter bedspread. Lighting a couple of pheromone emitting candles, Dulci figured she'd have the mood already set when he arrived.

Looking at her phone, Dulci started to worry. Two hours had lapsed since she spoke to Sidney, and when she tried to call, his phone went straight to voicemail. She had also sent a text to call when he received it, just so she knew he was ok. In an attempt to keep herself busy and awake, she painted her finger and toe nails, spent an embarrassing amount of time on Pinterest, and baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies for the girls at work.

It was approaching ten and Dulci still hadn't heard from him. A little irritated and disappointed with his lack of communication but mostly concerned, Dulci decided to call it a night. She had to be up early the next day for a busy day of appointments. She also had a lunch meeting with her boss's boss tomorrow afternoon to discuss her contract. She wanted to see Sidney because he would take her mind off of the meeting. She turned her phone on silent, set her alarm clock, and quickly fell asleep.

Five AM arrived too quickly. After turning off her alarm clock, she sat up, throwing her feet off the bed to fully wake up. She stuck to her usual routine for early mornings, and it wasn't until she was drinking a cup of coffee in her kitchen that she bothered looking at her phone. She had several messages from Sidney, some texts and some voicemails. The voicemails were very apologetic, explaining that the meeting ran long because it was also an interview and as hard as he tried to reschedule, he couldn't. The texts made her heart melt.

**I should've answered your calls. Please forgive me.**

**Please answer your phone. I need to know how I can make this up to you.**

It was obvious that Sidney thought she was intentionally ignoring his calls as a punishment. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she texted him back, not sure if he would be awake or not, with a sexy message.

**By eating sushi off of my naked body before you fuck me all night.**

Pleased with her racy text, she threw her phone in her bag and left her house.

"This prednisone prescription can be filled but they'll need a recheck before their next refill," Dulci said to herself as she wrote the amended directions in the medical record.

"What about this one?" Alyssa handed Dulci the record of a patient that was exclusively Dr. King's.

"They've been coming in every two months for the past year rechecking an ear infection that doesn't respond to Mometamax," Dulci mumbled as she read King's barely legible handwriting.

"She's only done one cytology in the past seven recheck appointments?"

"Sounds like it. The client is at her wit's end. She says King usually just looks in Lucy's ears and tells her to continue the meds for an additional two weeks," Alyssa mimicked using air quotes.

"Ok then, I'm going to call this client and suggest culturing Lucy's ears. Whatever is growing in there is obviously resistant to Mometamax." Dulci picked up the phone and started dialing.

"I'm sure the resistance had nothing to do with poor medicine she's received for the past year," Alyssa replied sarcastically as she counted prednisone.

"I don't understand why they keep her around. She brings down the quality of the medicine here," Alyssa added before walking into the break room.

Dulci smiled in agreement, but she couldn't verbally chip in with Alyssa. She couldn't stand working with Dr. King, and she'd witnessed and fixed crucial mistakes made by Dr. King, but bashing her with the support staff was a line she wouldn't cross. As Dulci was waiting for Mrs. Walker's voicemail, she heard Amy gasp loudly followed by a resounding "Oh my God!" Not knowing whether an emergency had just walked it, Dulci hung up, grabbed her stethoscope off of the lab counter, and ran toward the lobby. She almost gasped when she got there. Standing in front of all of the receptionists was Sidney, covered head to toe in Penguins attire, carrying carryout. Dulci had to pick her jaw up off the floor.

"Hi! I thought there was an emergency," Dulci fumbled her lie as she tried to explain why her reaction to Sid was similar to Amy's. Sidney just smiled as he slowly walked toward her.

"What are you doing here?" Dulci asked discreetly, looking back and forth between Sid and the receptionists, specifically Amy, who stood in a Sidney-induced haze.

"I'm making it up to you," he told her as he gently pulled her into one of the empty exam rooms, closing and locking the door behind him. Dulci stood in front of him astonished as he placed the carry out on the elevated exam table. She recalled all of the phone calls from Carly about how he would never go out in public with her in order to protect his and her image. But here he was, in the flesh, at her place of employment.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about last night. I had no idea the meeting would run as late as it did and..."

Dulci stopped his explanation with a kiss, grasping a hold on his shirt with one hand while the other was wrapped around his shoulders. Sidney was taken by surprise, but quickly returned the kiss, picking Dulci up as they kissed fervently, getting lost in one another in a tiny veterinary exam room.

"I take it you're not mad at me?" he whispered in her ear as their embrace turned into a hug.

"I was never mad. I was worried, though," she told her truthfully, concern from last night evident on her face.

"I'm sorry I made you worry," he kissed her lips quickly before opening the take out container. Dulci stared at the sushi, and while she was elated that he brought her sushi, she wasn't kidding about the text message she sent him that morning.

"Don't worry, I've got more sushi at home." When she looked at him, she saw the devious smile on his face, reading her mind like a book.

"I'll be right back." Dulci quickly left the room, briskly walked to her desk, grabbing her winter vest and scarf.

"I'll be back in an hour," she almost yelled at the office manager out of pure excitement. She entered the exam room, grabbing the sushi and Sid's hand, and dragged him out of the back door towards his car in the parking lot.

"We're not going to go do _that_, are we?" he asked when they buckled themselves into his car.

"Maybe," Dulci giggled with a flirty smile.

"I can't. I have a game tonight," he groaned, thinking of biting California rolls off of her. Dulci laughed as his head fell back and hit the head rest in disappointment.

"I was kidding. I thought we could eat this somewhere else, like a park or something," she suggested as she popped a roll into her mouth.

"The hospital would've been fine. That room was ok. As long as I'm eating with you, I don't care where we are," he told her, putting his hand on her thigh as he pulled out onto the road.

"That's sweet of you, but I saw a parvo puppy in that room this morning," Dulci said as she looked out the window. She ended up euthanizing the puppy because the owners couldn't afford the treatment. They couldn't even afford the exam fee.

"I'm not sure what that means."

"I'll tell you when we're not getting ready to eat. Its gross."

It didn't take long before they arrived at a park. They walked, hand in hand to a picnic table, and sat down across from each other.

"So, what'd you do last night?" Sidney asked with a mouth full of sushi.

"Umm… I briefly talked to my cousin in England about her wedding in a couple of months. I got ready for you to come over. The usual," Dulci said nonchalantly. She thought about telling him that Henry stopped by, but didn't know how he'd take it. She decided that since she didn't care about Henry, he didn't need to be mentioned.

"So do you have a lot of family in England?"

"Mmhmm," she affirmed, chewing and taking a drink of water simultaneously.

"My mother's family is English. They all live in Norwich, including my mom. She moved back when my parents divorced a couple of years ago."

"Do you see your mom often?"

"We skype almost every morning. As for physically seeing, I go to England once a year, usually in the summer." Going to England this summer meant going to Aggie's wedding, and since she's been involved with Sidney, she'd wanted to ask if he'd be up for going with her. This was her moment to ask.

"Speaking of going to England, Aggie, my cousin I told you about, is getting married in April. I'm her maid of honor. I was wondering if you'd go with me," Dulci asked, looking down at the table, afraid to look at him and potentially get rejected.

"I'd like to. The only problem is that the playoffs start in April, and depending on how far we go, the Stanley Cup Finals are in June." She knew his schedule would be more demanding during spring, but, given that she was a closeted hopeless romantic, she was hoping he'd make time to go with her. At the same time, Dulci was happy that he found time in his game day schedule to make up for his absence the night before.

"I'll see what I can do when it gets closer to April," Sidney took her hand, taking her out of her thoughts. She smiled genuinely at him, thrilled that he would at least consider going.

"Lets get you back to work. I've got to take my nap." He stood up from the table, taking the empty carryout container and throwing it in a nearby garbage can before meeting her and walking back to his vehicle.

"How accustomed are you to gawking girls?" Dulci broke the comfortable silence on the way back to the hospital.

"Unless someone asks for an autograph or picture, I don't even notice them anymore. I tune everything out when I'm in public."

Dulci nodded as he spoke.

"Why? Were people staring at the park?"

"No, I was thinking about how ridiculous Amy acted when you walked into the hospital," Dulci chuckled.

"The redhead? Yeah, it happens occasionally. If I recall correctly, you got a nose bleed when you saw me for the first time," he teased her, gently squeezing her thigh.

"I was nude and you were a stranger in my house. I was trying to get away from you."

"You're the first person who has ever recoiled from me," he said in mock dejection.

Before she could come up with a witty reply, Sidney continued.

"And yet, I can't get enough of you," he said as he pulled into the hospital parking lot, throwing his car in park.

It was perfect. He was perfect. Dulci reached over the center console and kissed him. They kissed languidly for a couple of minutes before they both stopped, resting their foreheads together.

"Will I see you tonight?"

"What time do you get home from the game?"

"I can call you when I'm leaving Consol."

"You promise," Dulci said sarcastically, jabbing at his lack of calls from the previous night.

"Yes."

"Ok," Dulci nodded, subconsciously biting her bottom lip and she looked at his, wishing she could kiss him again.

"I'll see you later," He said smiling with the crooked grin Dulci grew to love.

She waved as he backed out and drove away. When she walked into the hospital, the doctor's office was vacant. Taking off her scarf, she almost jumped out of her skin when she turned to find Amy standing behind her with an anxious smile on her face.

"When were you going to tell me you knew him?"

Dulci sighed knowing it would be a long afternoon working with his biggest fan.

Nineteen


	20. Chapter 20

She waited patiently for him to call. It was going on 11pm and Dulci hadn't heard anything from him. At this point, she wouldn't be able to drive to his house. She'd had three glasses of wine and was working on her fourth. Savannah spent the evening with Dulci as they watched the Flyers-Penguins game. While Dulci remained relatively docile the entire game, Savannah made sure all of Dulci's neighbors knew she wasn't a Pens fan.

Dulci stood at her sink, washing the dishes used to eat greasy pizza while her cat cork screwed between her legs, purring loudly, wanting attention.

"I know exactly how you feel, Meatball," she cooed at her cat after she picked her up. She scratched under her chin and ears, making Meatball purr harder and knead against Dulci's chest. She'd had Meatball since she was fourteen years old. Meatball was a gift from her father after Dulci's parent separated to deal with potentially separation anxiety. Meatball was getting old and losing weight. She was already diagnosed as a hyperthyroid cat, but even regulated on medication, she was still vomiting. Dulci feared she had intestinal lymphoma.

"Why don't we call it a girl's night and go to bed?" Dulci packed up the left over pizza, corked the wine, and turned her kitchen and living room lights out. She chuckled as Meatball followed her like a dog towards her bedroom, jumping on the bed to make herself comfortable.

Dulci flipped her bedroom TV on as she got ready for bed. As she was brushing her teeth, she heard a familiar voice. It was Sidney doing a post game interview. They had lost horribly to the Flyers, not to mention that the team was on a four game losing streak. He looked physically beat, defeated, forlorn. He sounded distanced, cold, and cut off. Dulci figured he probably went home and went to sleep, upset about the outcome of the last couple of games. After the short snippet of his interview, the commentators started to question his role as captain on the team. Toothbrush still in hand, she matched over to the remote and turned the channel.

After finishing in the bathroom, she got into bed, pulling out her current read. It wasn't long before she was nodding off, head bobbing like a kid falling asleep in class. She must've fallen asleep at some point because she didn't hear her phone message notification. The knocking was what startled her awake. As she stumbled out of her bed towards the front door, she didn't even bother checking to see who it was. Opening the door, Sidney stood there, looking gorgeous in his suit, but utterly tired in the face. Without a word, he walked and took Dulci in his arms, letting his cheek rest on the top of her head.

"Sorry I woke you up. I know it's late but I had to see you."

"Don't apologize. This is a pleasant surprise," she nuzzled into his chest, breathing in his cologne.

He pulled her head away from his chest, brushed stray hairs away from her face, and kissed her softly but deeply, bending her backwards slightly as they kissed each other longingly. The kiss only fizzled out when Sidney stomach growled.

"I hate to ask, but do you have anything to eat? I'm starving," he rubbed his stomach, trying to sooth his hunger pains.

"I've got pizza, sandwich stuff, left over lo mein," she listed as they walked into her kitchen.

"Pizza sounds good."

As Dulci opened one of her cabinets to get a plate, Sidney stopped her.

"I'll get it. Sit down and relax." He took the plate from her and closed the cabinet, pointing her toward the stools by the island with his head.

"So, any other 'emergencies' today?" He joked as he threw his pizza into the microwave.

"By emergencies, do you mean handsome athletes walking into the hospital?" She smiled as she flirted.

"No. It was a normal day after you dropped me off. I was supposed to go to lunch with my boss to renegotiate my contract, but it fell through."

"Do you renegotiate every year?"

"Yeah. Well, there's always the possibility that my contract won't be renewed. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

Sidney nodded slowly, biting into his second piece of pizza.

"Do you think it won't be renewed?"

Dulci shrugged her shoulders, honestly not sure if her contract would expire or not. The dynamic of the hospital was changing. Dr. Harrison was blatantly favoring Dr. King, and Dulci couldn't understand why.

"To be honest, I've given thought recently to ending my contract. Either way, I know I'll always have a job offer at my friend's clinic," she sighed, not wanting that to be an option.

"Is your friend's clinic around here?"

"No. It's in New York City on the upper west side."

Sidney stopped chewing. New York was hours away from Pittsburgh. It was hard enough as it was finding time to see each other. In his mind, they were together as a couple. Would she really leave if her contract wasn't renewed without thinking about their outcome? His mind reeled as she stifled a yawn, oblivious to his mental turmoil.

"You couldn't find another job around here?" He almost choked out, sounding slightly alarmed.

"I could try. It's not always that easy. It all depends on what they offer me."

Sidney nodded, fully understanding her predicament if her contract ended. He put his pizza crust on the plate, having lost his appetite at the idea that Dulci would move out of the area and out of his life, not to mention the fact that his team's losing streak was plaguing his mind. He rubbed his head, trying desperately to think if anything other than Dulci or the team.

"I watched the game," she broke the silence and his thoughts.

"I'd rather talk about anything than the game," he sighed quietly, rinsing his plate and putting it on the drying rack.

"Fair enough," she paused, wondering if she should continue. She wanted him to know that she was there for him.

"Just know that while I don't know much about hockey, I'll listen if you need to talk."

"Thank you," he said as he pulled her into a hug.

"You once told me that everyone needs to vent," she continued into his chest.

"I don't want to bore you with hockey talk."

"It wouldn't be boring. It's important to you," she said as she took his hand and walked toward her bedroom.

Sidney collapsed on the bed, sitting on the edge as he unbuttoned his dress shirt. Dulci excused herself to the bathroom but left the door cracked incase he decided to start talking.

"We're not playing like a team. We aren't connecting plays or passes. The D isn't reading offensive plays. They aren't protecting the net. Practices are great, but then games turn to shit. I've watched hours of tape trying to pin point specific mistakes."

Dulci sat down next to him.

"This may be a stupid question, but do you guys ever do team building exercises or anything?"

"Yeah. We do them every year before the season starts," he said lying back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Why not do them during the season, too?"

Dulci couldn't read his expression. He just looked at her. She instantly berated herself for trying to give him advice on something she had zero experience with.

"Maybe that wasn't a good idea," she retracted, scratching her forehead nervously.

"No. It's a great idea, and I wish it were easily implemented. The season is so busy it's hard to find time to take away from practices and traveling."

She laid down next to him, perching her head on her hand.

"Whenever I'm having trouble figuring out a difficult case, I sleep on it."

Sidney smiled and rolled to face her, perching his own head in his hand.

"You do sleep a lot."

"Says the grown man who naps," she teased, returning the smile.

"Let's go to bed," Dulci whispered while trying to stifle a yawn.

Sidney stood up to finish undressing. Dulci pulled down the covers and crawled it, manually turning the nightstand light off. And she slid into her bed, Sidney climbed it, the mattress springs screaming under his weight, and settled in next to Dulci, instantly spooning her like they've been doing it for years.

"I'm sorry my bed isn't as comfortable as yours. If I get a bonus this year, I'm definitely investing in a mattress like yours."

"Your bed isn't bad, especially when I'm in it with you," he kissed her hair, trying to get comfortable.

While he was physically exhausted, mentally he was doing a marathon and just got his second wind. Within minutes, Dulci was twitching and ever so lightly snoring, rubbing her feet against his.

/having difficulty falling asleep, he thought for a long time about all the memories he had with her. He adored her. There was no contesting that. She was easy going, caring, compassionate, intelligent, and beautiful. He loved the way her eyes lit up when she talked about something she liked, the way she laughed and flirted with him when he was being goofy or a joke was particularly funny, the way she took his feelings and words into consideration, the way she would so easy being embarrassed, her sweater and sandal fetish, and the way she would drool on him while sleeping. He never told her about the drooling, knowing she'd be embarrassed, but he thought it was cute and intimate. In that moment, he didn't want anyone else to have that with her and he wanted her to know it.

Dulci shifted, turning so that they were face to face, rubbing her nose into his shoulder as she got comfortable. He looked down at her relaxed face, mouth slightly ajar. Some of her hair had fallen into her face, and he ever so gently brushed it out of her face, causing her to wake up.

"Is everything ok?" She asked groggily, one eye shut as she tried to process her surroundings. He nodded, smiling at her.

"Was I snoring?"

Sidney shook his head and gently kissed her lips, slowly, savoring the moment as she responded, running her hand through his hair. He rolled her underneath him, fitting in between her thighs as he told her every feeling he felt for her through the kiss.

Dulci's hands snaked down his back and latched on to his ass, squeezing as he gyrated against her. She gripped the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up over his shoulders, interrupting the moment.

Sidney looked down at her, eyes heavy with sleep and desire, mouth red and swollen, pick splotches on her face and neck from arousal, nipples erect through her white undershirt, and knew he was in love with her.

Dulci pulled her own undershirt off, wanting to feel his warm skin against hers. She didn't even care of they had sex, she just wanted to be as close to him as possible.

At the same time, Sidney started slowly working the waistband of her pants down, switching from side to side, kissing and suckling on her neck and chest. Coming away from her, he removed her cotton spandex pants and underwear, stopping to appreciate how beautiful she looked lying naked and waiting on her bed, breathing heavier than normal from excitement. He quickly got rid of his boxers and returned to his origin position on top of her. They remained tangled up in one another, kissing each other's lips, faces, necks, everywhere.

Sidney perched himself up on one arm, still lying between her legs, and looked into her eyes. He wanted to tell her that he wanted her, needed her, and more importantly, that he loved her. He opened his mouth a few times, but nothing would come out. What if the feelings weren't mutual? What if, no matter what happens between them, she goes to New York anyway?

Dulci could tell he was struggling with something. Each time he opened his mouth to speak, she could tell he was nervous, vulnerable, and afraid. He was pleading with her, but she couldn't figure out was he was asking. Sometimes there are no words, only actions. She closed the space between them, kissing him, hoping the kiss would comfort him and tell him that she loved him. She reached between them, gently took his penis in hand, and guided him in.

His groan mixed with her gasp as he pushed himself in all the way to the hilt. He pulled out slowly and repeated again, pushing himself all the way back in until her pelvis lifted slightly off the mattress. The continued at this slow pace, wrapped up in each other, letting actions speak when words failed.

Dulci was beside herself, finding herself getting closer and closer to orgasm without any external stimulation. There was something about the way he was holding her, one arm underneath her neck while the other held her hand against the mattress, holding him up as well. He'd never been so close. It felt safe, intimate, wonderful, all the things she thought making love would feel like. He was also hitting all the places, rubbing her g-spot with the entire length of his penis, plus a new place she'd never felt. She was glad that he and only he had found it. She moaned repeatedly into his mouth as they kissed, encouraging him to continue.

Sidney could tell she was close, the way she dug her nails into his shoulder and hand, the moans and breaths she would take, the way she clenched her legs against him, holding him to her.

He looked at her. Her eyes were closed, mouth open, fully immersed in ecstasy. He found himself thinking again that he wanted to be the last person to see her like this, uninhibited, beautiful, and his. When she opened her eyes, he heard himself talking before he knew it was happening.

"Don't leave me."

He picked up their pace slightly, keeping the same depth. He wanted her to come.

"I won't," she breathed out, keeping eye contact as the continued, staring deeply at one another.

He knew she was starting to come, the way she opened her mouth into an o, furrowed her brows slightly, everything flushing a bright shade of pink. Inside, she was squeezing him harder than ever, almost making him come. He held off, wanting her to finish before him. She finally caved, giving out a guttural moan as she came hard, never looking away. It wasn't until he burrowed his head in the crook of her neck that she finally closed her eyes, feeling and hearing him come just as hard as she did. When he rolled off of her, he pulled her to him again, embracing her as she trembled slightly, still catching her breath. Once she fell back to sleep, he pulled the comforter on top of them. He kissed the top of her head, chuckling quietly as she snored a little, before succumbing to his feelings.

"I love you," he whispered into her hair before closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

Bacon. Bacon and sausage. That's the aroma that Sidney woke up to; the overwhelming smell of bacon and sausage. Opening his eyes, he saw sunlight coming through the small slit in Dulci's blackout curtains. Her television hummed quietly on the HGTV, something that he'd learn to sleep with when he stayed at her house. She was no longer in bed, and hadn't been there for quite some time. Her side of the bed was cool to the touch. When he looked at the door, he saw that it wasn't completely closed, but opened slightly like the curtains. As his hearing caught up to his sight, he heard the sizzling of the bacon in the kitchen, cabinets and drawers opening and closing, and oddly, two voices; Dulci's and another female voice. She had an English accent. The two were laughing about something. As she slowly rose out of bed, he slipped on his boxers and undershirt, but he had a hard time finding his dress shirt. He slipped on his slacks and slowly opened the door, conscious of the fact that it was squeaky when opened quickly. He stalked down the hall, not wanting to eavesdrop per say, but he was curious as to what the two were discussing.

"What's he like in bed?"

The question stopped him. He was torn. While he wanted to know how Dulci would answer, he was nervous that she'd compare him to Henry, thinking he was still sound asleep in her bedroom and not standing right around the corner listening to the conversation.

Dulci sighed dreamily out loud, remembering each and every time they've had sex. She'd told Aggie everything in the past, but for some reason, she felt shy and reserved about her sex with Sidney, like it was private and just for them and no one else. She smiled bashfully as she cut onions on the cutting board.

"How's Oscar?" Dulci asked, trying to change the subject.

"Don't change the subject, Dulci! I asked you a question and I demand an answer."

"Ok," Dulci responded reluctantly, putting the knife down, wiping her hands on her pants.

Sidney winced. Did she actually think their sex was just ok? If he remembered correctly, he had her wrapped around his finger every time they had sex. He made her come at least once every single time, apart from the first. He'd be happier with a "good," or "great." Maybe she did prefer the sex she had with Henry more than the sex with him, and it made him feel a little queasy. He didn't have the slightest idea as to how to incorporate that into sex. He'd have to figure out a way to ask her.

"I've never had sex like this, ever. It's breathtaking, toe-curling, mind-blowing, extraordinary. I've never known Jason or Henry to read and know my body like Sidney does."

Sidney exhaled slowly, relieved with Dulci's follow up answer. He knew of Henry, but who was Jason? And, had she really only had sex with two people other than him? Of course he read her body when they had sex. Why would he continue to do something that she wasn't enjoying?

"He knows what he's doing. And the orgasms, they're intense. It's usually at a fast pace, which I love. But last night, it was different. It was slow and deep, and I know this sounds so cliché, but we were one person last night. The pleasure was so overwhelming that I almost cried," Ducli explained as she looked down, feeling emotional all of a sudden, remembering the overwhelming feeling of being choked up during sex.

There were a few tears, but Ducli must not have noticed. He watched a few stray tears fall down her face as she started to come, squeezing his hand and shoulder, digging her heals into his backside.

"Dulci, my dear, you're in love."

"I am," Dulci confirmed, nodding and smiling.

"What if the feeling isn't mutual, Aggie? What if I'm in over my head and I end up getting hurt?" While she questioned Sidney's feelings for her, she remembered the look in his eyes when he asked her not to leave him. She swore she saw love, but she couldn't be sure.

"That's rubbish! You know he's in love with you, too. And if he's not, I'll make an impromptu visit and talk some sense into him," Aggie said matter-of-factly.

"How did you know with Oscar?"

"I could just feel it. It's hard to put into words. He eventually told me."

Sidney made a promise right then and there that he needed to tell her soon, especially since he now knew that she loved him, too.

"Lets change the subject before I drive myself crazy. How's Rosie? She never answers any of my calls," Dulci said as she started chopping raw spinach.

"She's good. She's trying to adopt a baby at the moment. She's waiting to hear back on her app…application."

Dulci looked at her computer screen, wondering why Aggie all of sudden seemed lost in thought, staring aimlessly into at the screen.

"Are you ok, Aggie?" Dulci asked, mixing the chopped onion and spinach with raw eggs.

"Wow. He's handsome," Aggie said distantly. It caught Dulci off guard. Who the hell was she talking about?

"Good morning," Sidney said walking up behind Dulci, leaning over her shoulder to kiss her cheek.

"Hi… I didn't even hear you get up," Dulci blushed as she looked back at Aggie and the giant smile on Aggie's face seeing Sidney's small display of affection. Dulci hated PDA.

"What are you making," Sidney asked, looking at her spread from over her shoulder.

"Omelettes, bacon, sausage, toast," Dulci listed, tucking hair behind her ears.

"Smells amazing," Sidney complimented before turning to open the refrigerator.

"Ahem," Aggie cleared her throat to get Dulci's attention.

"Oh. Sidney, this is my cousin Agatha, the one I was telling you about in England. Aggie, this is Sidney," Dulci motioned back and forth between Sidney and her computer sceen.

"Hi Sidney! It's lovely to finally meet Dulci's boyfriend, even if it's on skype. Hopefully I'll see you at the wedding? And nobody calls me Agatha. Call me Aggie."

Dulci closed turned her head, closing her eyes. While Sidney called her his girlfriend once after the snuff with his dad, they hadn't discussed their relationship status since then. She was also afraid to hear how he'd answer the wedding question. She knew he wouldn't be able to come, and she didn't want to hear him say it again.

"I'm a lucky guy to have her. And I'll try my best to come to the wedding. It depends on where we are in the season," he explained to Aggie, sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Season?" Aggie asked confused as she looked toward Dulci.

"He plays professional hockey. Your wedding is right before the playoffs," Dulci tried to explain, looking to Sidney for support.

"Oh! Well that's exciting!" Aggie gushed.

"If you're ever in the States, I'd be happy to get you tickets to a game. Although, I'd have to have my sister sit with you. Dulci wouldn't be able to explain anything to you," he teased, failing to keep a straight face.

"Hey! I've picked up a few things!" Dulci corrected him, jabbing lightly in the ribs, making him laugh.

"Ugh. The bell is ringing. Break is over. I'll talk to you later, Dulci! It was lovely meeting you, Sidney. Bye!"

"Bye Aggie," Dulci said as she ended the skype session.

"Sorry if our talking woke you up," Dulci apologized, heating up a pan for the omelette.

"Not at all. It was actually the smell of bacon," he said as he took a strip to eat.

"Do you have practice this morning?"

"I have an optional skate, but I'd rather eat breakfast with my girlfriend," he said, pulling her into a hug. When Aggie mentioned the boyfriend comment, he could feel Dulci freeze, and while she didn't notice, he looked at her to find her wincing. He could tell she wasn't sure how he'd take the label. He figured he'd fix her insecurities. He could feel her relax into him, quietly sighing into his shoulder.

"Can I help with anything?" he asked, releasing her to let her continue cooking.

"Umm, I think I'm ok. Thanks for offering."

He watched as she poured the egg mixture into the pan, thinking that it looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place the memory. He watched as she flipped the egg on one side, folding it perfectly in half, scratching her leg with her big toe, humming a tune he wasn't familiar with. He was so engrossed in her that he didn't hear her asking a question.

"Hmm?"

"Do you want toast?" she chuckled as she asked, watching him flush with embarrassment.

"Sure, I'll make it," he cleared his throat before asking if he could make her some.

Once the food was ready, Dulci motioned him over to eat at her couch and coffee table instead of eating at the table.

"Before you judge me, I do this every morning that I'm home. I watch two reruns of Sex and the City and I have no regrets," she explained as she turned her television on.

"That's fine by me. When in Rome." He took a bite of his omelette.

"My mom's omelettes taste exactly like this. She'd be thrilled that someone makes them like her," he said through chews.

_Of course it tastes the same. It's her recipe._ Dulci wanted to make the morning special, especially after their night together. She knew that the next couple of weeks would be hard. She'd be working late night shifts and if she remembered correctly, he'd be going on a long road trip soon. Time spent together would be sparse to say the least.

"Is this her recipe?" he inquired, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"It is. I didn't want to say anything incase I didn't do it justice," she rambled.

"Its delicious, maybe even better than her's."

Dulci smiled, exhilarated that he loved her cooking so much.

"Did she give this to you at the house the other night?"

"No. She emailed it to me. We've been sharing recipes over email." When she looked at him, he was already looking at her, staring with an unreadable expression. She instantly got butterflies, eager yet nervous to know what he was thinking. Was she overstepping her bounds by having a separate relationship with his mother? He gently took her plate off of her lap and put their empty plates on the coffee table, and before she knew what he was doing, he grabbed her face, rubbing her one of her cheeks with his large thumb, and kissed her, releasing one hand to pull her as close to him as possible while they were still seated.

"You're amazing. Thank you for liking my parents," he whispered between kisses.

Dulci loved Trina. She was warm, welcoming, and amiable. And they both loved cooking, so they instantly had something in common other than her son. She couldn't say the same for his dad, but their last engagement was civil, and that was better than nothing.

He pulled her into him, putting his arm over her shoulder, letting her continue her morning ritual not wanting to interfere. It was quite the opposite. He wanted to be involved in her morning routine, or maybe create a new one involving them together. They watched the episode in relative silence, Dulci laughing occasionally, and Sidney asking for clarification on characters. When the second episode started, Dulci rolled her eyes with irony. It was the episode where Miranda goes to the clinic for the abortion. Of all six seasons, how did that episode run the morning that Sid was watching with her?

"I'd be livid if I impregnated a girl and she kept it a secret to get an abortion." Dulci froze, knowing that that exact situation did happen to Sid, and he still didn't know. She instantly felt terrible and traitorous that she was keeping Carly's secret from him. Her mind roamed. If Dulci told him that Carly aborted, how would he react? Would he be mad at her that she knew the entire time? How did he feel about abortions in general? Would she be truthful if he asked her if she'd ever been pregnant or had an abortion?

"Would you ever do it to a guy?" Sidney asked, making her even more uncomfortable. She had done it to Jason, and when she eventually told him, he broke up with her. Should she lie to him or tell him the truth, not exactly knowing how he'd treat her knowing she'd done it. Would he think differently of her?

"Would you do it to me?"

She looked at him, seeing the man that she loved, and told the truth. While she wouldn't admit it to anyone, she could see herself with Sidney until she grew old. She occasionally allowed herself to think of what it would be like to have children with him, watching as he taught them to skate, properly hold a stick, shoot pucks.

"No I wouldn't," she shook her head as she looked him in the eyes.

He smiled and kissed her chastely on the lips. They continued to watch the episode in a comfortable silence.

"To what do I owe the giant breakfast?" he asked as the credits rolled.

"I had to cook most of the ingredients before they spoiled. And, starting tomorrow I'm working the late shift for the next two weeks. I figured we could have a nice morning together since we probably won't see much of each other," Dulci finished, feeling glum at the idea of not seeing or being near him for an extended period of time. It was times like these she wished their schedules coincided more.

"After that, I'll be in Manhattan for a week," she finished, collecting their plates to take the to kitchen sink.

"What are you going to New York for?" After their conversation the previous evening and their admission during sex, he couldn't believe she was going to New York. He knew he was probably overreacting. She had to be going there for a reason other than relocating.

"To scope out some potential real estate," she said, trying to remain serious as she bit back a smile, avoiding eye contact, attempting to joke with him.

"Oh. You think you're so funny don't you?" He snuck up behind her, picking her up around her waist, walking her toward the couch. She squealed as he put pressure on her ticklish spots, dumping her with a bounce before climbing on top of her to tickle her more.

"I'm going for a veterinary conference! Please stop!" she yelled through her cackling. When he finally stopped, he kissed her hard and deep, making her gasp into his mouth, taking her breath away. Like the previous night, his actions spoke louder than words. He wanted the kiss to keep her with him in Pittsburgh, and possibly wherever he goes. When the kiss lost it's intensity and they came up to breathe, Dulci reassured him.

"I meant what I said. I wont leave you," she whispered, caressing his stubbly face with her hand before continuing their kiss.

His hands were snaked in her hair, holding his weight on his elbows. He could feel her open up, involuntarily pressing her pelvis into his. He rotated his weight to one side, using the other hand to unbutton his own shirt, working agonizingly slow, hoping to drive her crazy with desire. When the shirt was half way undone, enough that she would easily push it aside and expose her breasts, his cellphone rang, and rang, and rang, relentlessly for minutes on end.

"Motherfucker," he muttered as he lifted off of her.

"I'm sorry. Hopefully this wont take long. It's probably my agent."

"It's ok. Take your time," she sat up, feeling the heat and moisture between her legs, hoping the call would be over soon. She was going to have sex with him before her meeting with her boss later that day.

Deciding to take the time to do something productive, she opened her computer to check email and go through her junk mail. She went through dozens of store, promotional, Virginia Tech, and Veterinary Economics magazine emails. She couldn't believe how many emails she could get in a couple of weeks.

One caught her eye. The subject said. "Missed appointment," and she couldn't remember making any appointments recently. Opening it, she realized it was an email reminder she set up for Carly, for _that_ appointment. Dulci frantically looked for the date of the email. It was sent the day after her appointment. She quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed her phone, returning to dial the number.

"Yes. I was wondering if you could tell me whether I had an appointment on the eighteenth and missed it? I can't remember," Dulci shook with anticipation, hoping the email was a mistake.

"Your name?"

"Carly MacPherson."

"Ms. MacPherson, it does look like you missed your appointment, would you like to reschedule it?" Given the nature of the appointment, Dulci couldn't blame the receptionist for sounding awkward.

"I'll have to call you back," Dulci said and hung up, not giving the receptionist a chance to respond.

Did Carly get it done somewhere else? Was she still pregnant? Would she show up at Sid's door eight months from now with a baby on her hip and ruin everything? Dulci felt so nauseous she could feel the vomit rising. She threw her phone on the couch as she ran to the bathroom, leaning over the toilet, emptying her stomach into the toilet.

_What the fuck_.


	22. Chapter 22

"Yeah?"

"Hey man. Where were you this morning? You never miss optimal skates."

It was Marc, and while he'd be irate any other time one of his close teammates continuously called, interrupting his day, the sound of genuine concern resonating from Marc's voice made it easier to forgive.

"I decided to lay low today, take a break," he paced in Dulci's guest bedroom.

"Take a break? You?" There was laughter in Marc's voice, like he couldn't believe Sid would want a break from the one thing he loved.

"Dulci made a huge breakfast this morning. I was going to go, but then I found out we won't be seeing each other for a while. I thought I'd spend the day with her." He felt ridiculous having to explain himself. He knew that everyone praised him for his commitment and drive for hockey, but couldn't he have one day to himself as Sidney Crosby, the normal guy who wants to spend a day with his girlfriend and not Sidney Crosby, hockey player extraordinaire who doesn't have a personal life or time for a relationship? All of the other guys had normal relationships. Why couldn't he?

"That's cool. She seems really nice. Vero loved her." As he listened to Marc, he wondered how anyone couldn't like Dulci?

"So I take it she's not working today if you're spending the day together?" Marc probed.

"I think she has a lunch meeting with her boss this afternoon. Why?"

"Vero has been bugging me to invite you two over for dinner. How about tonight?"

"I can definitely ask," Sidney said, wondering how Dulci would feel about having dinner with his teammate. As he was answering, he heard her run past the gues bedroom door, slamming what he assumed was the bathroom door behind her. When he opened the guest bedroom door to check, he heard what he thought was retching. Walking closer to the door, his initial thought was confirmed when he heard it again.

"Let me call you back," Sidney hung up the phone before knocking on the door. He didn't get a response.

"Dulci? Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Her response was shaky and weak.

When he opened the door, he found her kneeling on the floor, resting her arms and head on the toilet seat. It was obvious she had been sick. He knelt down next to her, soothingly rubbing her back.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked.

"A bottle of water." Dulci lifted her head and flushed the toilet. As she went to reach for the box of tissues ok her toilet tank, Sidney beat her to it, handing her a wad of tissue, looking at her sympathetically. Returning with her bottled water, he found that she'd left the bathroom. When he checked her bedroom, he found her brushing her teeth in the en suite.

"Thank you," she smiled weakly at him with a mouth full of toothpaste.

"Are you feeling better?" He didn't know what had happened. It couldn't have been the breakfast because he felt fine. He hoped she wasn't getting the stomach flu.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little stressed about my meeting today," she lied, avoiding eye contact. She really wanted to say, "I'm fine except for the fact that I just found out your ex-girlfriend never went to her abortion appointment and is probably still pregnant with your child and the idea of you breaking up with me to be with her made me physically ill."

"I'm sure your contract renewal will be fine, and when you re-sign, we'll celebrate" he reassured her, tucking hair behind her ear.

"I hope you're right," she hugged him, embracing him tightly, not because she was worried about her meeting, but because she didn't know what the future held for them, especially not knowing for sure what was going on with Carly.

"Speaking of celebrating, Marc and Vero invited us over for dinner. I know you probably don't feel great, but if you feel up to it later, would you want to go?"

"Sure. That sounds like fun."

"Come on, let's go relax," he grabbed her hand and walked her over toward her bed. She climbed in and sat against the pillows, watching him take his slacks off to join her.

"I need to bring some gym shorts over," he mentioned as he pulled the comforter over them.

"I like you better in your underwear," Dulci smiled.

"Is that so?" Sidney replied, pulling her close to him, switching through the channels on her television. She watched as he would go back and forth between sports channels, snuggling into him more.

She didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but shot up, feeling for her phone on the nightstand, except it wasn't there. She remembered leaving it on the couch. She scurried to get up and find the time.

"I set my alarm. It's not even noon yet," Sidney said groggily, wiping his eyes and stretching.

"Thank God," she relaxed, climbing back into bed.

Her doorbell rang, and she groaned, not wanting to get up.

"I'll get it. Don't move," Sidney jumped up, giving her a quick kiss after he slipped his pants on. A moment later, he returned with a large box. Dulci sat up, not sure what was being delivered.

"A package from England," he told her, lying the box on her bed.

"Oh. It's probably from my mom," she told him, struggling to open the box. They hadn't discussed it yet, but her birthday was three weeks away. She'd be in New York City and he'd be on a road trip. Once she worked the box open, she pulled out a beautiful Cabernet colored cashmere wool trench coat and a pair of expensive looking snow boots. She pulled the card out last, which donned a giant "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" on the cover.

"Is today your birthday?" he asked surprised and unprepared.

"No. It's in three weeks. My mom has always sent out gifts around the first of the month." She opened the card, reading her mother's message.

"Darling, your father tells me you wear nothing but vests and sandals during the winter. Stay warm in style! I'll see you soon! Love you, Mum."

As she was reading, Sidney racked his brain trying to figure out what to get her for her birthday. His go to with his ex-girlfriends was jewelry, but Dulci didn't seem to wear anything except ear rings. Then again, was it too early to buy her jewelry? He made a mental note to ask Vero and Marc later that evening.

"Why didn't you tell me your birthday was coming up?"

"I was going to tell you, but the urgency wasn't there because we'll both be out of the area," she explained, stuffing the card back in the envelope.

"You'll be in New York?" He remembered.

"Mmhmm. And I think you'll be on a road trip," she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Well then we'll have to something before New York or after," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"I should probably start getting ready for my lunch meeting," she said as she stood and walked around to Sid's place on the bed, giving him a kiss before heading toward the bathroom. Sidney pulled out his phone, searching for gifts he thought she might like.

"I speak for Dr. Harrison and myself when I say we'd be happy to extend your contact for an additional year."

Dulci sat across from Dr. Kimmel, the owner of the hospital. She owned three hospitals in the Pittsburgh area and seldom worked with Dulci. When Dr. Kimmel did work a day, Dulci enjoyed every minute of it. She was passionate about veterinary medicine and did not seem interested in the business aspect of it compared to Dr. Harrison.

"Is there anything you want to alter with your previous contract?" Dr. Kimmel asked, taking a sip from her martini.

"I'm happy with my contract as it stands, but I'd like to receive some sort of credit for heartworm tests, preventatives, and fecal analyses. I work very hard talking clients into testing and treating for heartworms. I've also had more patients with intestinal parasite than I've had in the past."

Dulci swallowed, nervous to hear Dr. Kimmel's response. Dr. Harrison made it clear that none of the associate doctors would receive credit for those protocols and medications. She intentionally looked down at her salad, pushing the lettuce around in nervous anticipation.

"Consider it done. You're one of my most hard working associate veterinarians. I'll discuss the changes with Dr. Harrison," she smiled.

"I was honestly surprised when Harrison picked Megan to go to the Manhattan veterinary conference in two weeks. I thought for sure you'd be the top pick. You're my top pick, anyway."

Dulci's head perked up. She gripped her fork tightly, afraid that she'd drop it at the sound of Megan King going to New York instead of her.

"I'm sorry, but did you say Megan was going to the conference?" Dulci panicked internally. Why was Megan going? There was only one slot available and it was offered to her, not Megan.

"Dr. Harrison told me yesterday that he offered the spot to Megan. Is that wrong?" Dr. Kimmel looked slightly puzzled, unaware that both Dulci and Megan King were offered the spot.

"He told me months ago that I was picked to represent the hospital in Manhattan," Dulci explained, trying not to sound as enraged as she felt.

"Maybe he forgot. Either way, I'll see what's going on and I'll get back to you." She reached across the table and took one of Dulci's hands, squeezing it gently for support. Dulci smiled, hoping Dr. Kimmel could talk some sense into Harrison. She almost asked if she could be moved to Dr. Kimmel's clinic. The commute would be longer, limiting her personal time, but it was a sacrifice she was going to think about making. In the mean time, she planned on calling the hospital to speak to Dr. Harrison.

Once she got into her car, she dialed the hospital and Savannah answered.

"Savannah, it's Dulci. I need to speak to Dr. Harrison, please." She tried to sound cheerful, but she knew her voice oozed with rage.

"Hey! What's going on? Is everything ok?"

"Long story short, I just found out I'm not going to Manhattan in two weeks. Dr. King is instead."

"Ohhhh. That's fucked up," she whispered. "Let me see if he's available."

"Interrupt him. I don't care," Dulci interjected before being put on hold. She waited, seething the longer she waited for him to answer.

"Dr. Hammett. What can I do for you?" He answered arrogantly.

"I just had lunch with Dr. Kimmel and she notified me that Megan is going to New York for the conference?" Her goal was to remain as calm as possible. She wasn't a confrontational person, but when it came to messing with something she deserved or cared deeply about, she would fight for it.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Not at all except for the fact that you told me I was going."

"I've seen Megan work some difficult cases lately. Dr. Kimmel and I decided she would be the better choice."

"Since when? I see more appointments and emergencies every single day..."

"Dulci, this isn't up for discussion. The decision has been made and finalized. This doesn't have anything to do with you," he interrupted. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, sir." Dulci could feel the lump in her throat growing, chin quivering as she tried to swallow the tears.

"Oh, and I need to speak to you about switching shifts with Megan. She needs to work mornings for a while."

That was the last straw of the day. She's never been unprofessional a day in her career, but her patience was wearing thinner by the minute. He'd screwed her over by giving Megan the spot at the conference, and now he tried to switch her schedule without her permission. She was done.

"I'm not switching my schedule, Dr. Harrison. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go." Dulci hung up without getting a response. She didn't care if she didn't have a job tomorrow. She pulled Dr. Kimmel's number up on her phone, her thumb hovering over the call button. The only thing stopping her was Sidney. By working for Dr. Kimmel, she'd lose almost all of her free time with the hour-plus commute. They had a hard time matching up their schedules as it was. She couldn't imagine it being any harder.

It wasn't long before she pulled into his driveway. She looked into the rear view mirror, trying to wipe away the black tear streaks from her mascara running. She told herself she wouldn't cry, but as she sat through rush hour traffic, she couldn't help herself. She walked to his front door, desperate to take the blouse, pencil skirt, and heels off for more comfortable clothes. Before she knocked, the door flew open and Sam ran out to greet her, wagging her whole body and wining out of excitement.

"Hi Sam!" Dulci said in her baby voice, kneeling down to get kisses.

"Sam, don't steal all my kisses," Sidney said as he pulled Dulci up for a toe-curling kiss that made her temporarily forget her problems. When he pulled away, he noticed the redness in her face.

"Is everything ok?" His brows were furrowed, obviously concerned.

"I'm not going to New York," she huffed, looking away, feeling the lump grow again.

"What do you mean? I thought you were hand picked to go out of everyone you work with?"

"I was, but my stupid boss changed his mind and chose the worst person to go," she wiped a tear away. He pulled her into a tight embrace, letting her cry silently into his chest.

"I know I'm clueless about this, but can you go on your own?"

"The conference is four-hundred dollars a day, not including the conference material or rooming. I don't think I could afford it," she told him as she pulled a Gatorade out of his refrigerator.

"I'll be ok. I'm just really disappointment because I was looking forward to this for months," she rolled her eyes, aggravated at how excited she had been, knowing deep down that it seemed to good to be true. Sidney, not knowing how to help her, pulled her back into a hug.

"We'll figure it out," he said softly, rubbing her back. Dulci sighed, so grateful and fortunate that he was in her life. He had no real indicator of what she dealt with at the hospital from Dr. King or Dr. Harrison, and yet he was eager to try and make everything better for her.

"Ugh. I need to call Savannah and apologize. I was harsh to her earlier when I called the hospital," Dulci rubbed her forehead.

When she turned and walked into the powder room, Sidney knew exactly how he could help. Stepping outside, he pulled out his phone and called the hospital. Thankfully, Savannah answered and she was more than helpful to him. He would pay for her to attend all five days of the conference, including her stay at the nicest hotel he could find.


	23. Chapter 23

"Do we need to bring anything? Hors d'oeuvres? Drinks? Dessert?"

They were on their way to Marc and Vero's house for dinner.

"Nope. Marc specifically said not to bring anything," Sidney squeezed her hand as he turned out of his neighborhood.

"Do you know what they're having?" Dulci wasn't hungry, still mentally looming about the events of the day, but she hoped the couple would be making something of the comfort food variety.

"I think Marc is grilling, so probably chicken with some sort of grain and vegetable."

Dulci nodded, praying there would be some sort of alcoholic beverage available, maybe just a glass of wine to take the edge off.

"You'll get to meet my 'other girlfriend'," Sidney gestured using air quotes.

Dulci whipped her head around, facing him with a perplexed look on her face, mouth ajar. She was moderately taken aback by the remark. Was he serious?

"Girlfriend?" Dulci stuttered, not really sure how to respond.

"It's not like that. She's only a year old," Sidney corrected when he saw the horrified expression on Dulci's face.

"Her name is Estelle. It's Marc and Vero's daughter." He had a goofy grin on his lips, and seeing the way he smiled with his entire face made her happy. His smile was contagious, and she found it very relaxing.

"Marc tells me her face lights up when he mentions my name around her. She stops crying when she sees pictures of me. She stares at me for hours when I go to their house. She's pretty cute."

Dulci couldn't decide if it was because Estelle was his close teammates daughter or in general, but at that moment, it became very apparent that Sidney loved that little girl. His entire demeanor changed when he talked about her. Like most men, she figured he'd light up about having boys to play sports and other masculine activities. She wasn't expecting him to be jovial about a little girl. It was adorable.

"Well you are pretty easy on the eyes," Dulci complimented him, earning a humble smile.

Before long, they arrived at a very large home. As Sidney put his Range Rover into park, Dulci watched as the front door opened and Marc walked out to greet them. She watched as they did a masculine handshake before the attention turned to her.

"Marc, this is Dulci. Dulci, this is Marc, our goalie."

"Sid, we've already met. She operated on my dog, remember?" He gave Sid a sarcastically stupid look.

"It's nice to see you again," Dulci smiled as she watched the dynamic of the two. They acted like big kids around each other, smacking and scuffling one another playfully.

As they made their way inside, Dulci heard gleeful giggles coming from a toddler. Vero and Estelle came to greet them in the foyer.

"Dulci! Hello. It's so nice to see you again. I've been asking for this to happen for a couple of weeks," Vero hugged Dulci warmly.

"This is Estelle," she tickled the little girl's stomach, causing her to giggle loudly before becoming bashful and hiding in Vero's neck, shy around a new face.

"She's beautiful," Dulci smiled, watching the mother and daughter interact, giving Eskimo kisses.

"She's my favorite person in the entire word."

Marc and Sidney re-entered the foyer, discussing different strategies that their coach had been going over.

"I wish they would leave their hockey talk at the rink! We're supposed to be having a nice, relaxing, friendly evening," Vero groaned as the two men continued, completely oblivious to the women. Dulci looked to Estelle, who was staring at Sidney like he had said she would.

"Uh oh... She see's her boyfriend," Vero laughed, looking at her daughter's fascinated look. When she tried to get Estelle's attention, she wouldn't respond, and when Vero purposely turned so Estelle couldn't see him, she craned her neck over Vero's shoulder.

"Looks like you've got a little competition," Vero motioned for Dulci to follow her into the kitchen.

"Can I get you anything to drink? We have water, wine, juice," Vero listed as she lowered Estelle onto her feet.

"I'll have a glass of wine if it isn't too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," Vero assured her pulling down two wine glasses.

"I've got Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Cabernet savignon, Pinot noir, Shiraz."

"Anything white works for me."

As Vero opened the chilled bottle, Dulci evaluated the kitchen and great room. Vero's taste was impeccable, and if she were an interior designer, Dulci would've hired her. Her kitchen was beautiful, dark cabinets with light colored counter tops, a large exhaust hood covering an industrial sized stove and oven. The light fixtures were gorgeous. It looked like a kitchen found in Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

"So how have you been?" Vero took Dulci out of her thoughts, handing her a glass.

"I'm great. I've been busy at the hospital and planning my cousin's wedding next spring."

"Weddings are so much fun, a nightmare to plan, but fun none the less. Is it local?"

"No. It's in England. My mother's side of my family all live there. It's tricky to help with venues when I'm unsure of them, but Aggie knows what she wants, so that makes it a bit easier."

"I had a similar situation when I got married." Dulci was glad Vero was easy to talk to. She was very friendly, the kind of person that knew how to stimulate conversation with strangers while making them feel like they've been friends for a long time.

"Do you ever go to any of the games?" Vero asked, pulling a large bowl of salad out of the refrigerator.

"I'd like to go to more, but I get out of the hospital usually right around the same time the games start. I've thought about showing up late, but I'm not sure what the etiquette is," Dulci said honestly. She's wanted to surprise Sid by going to a game without his knowledge, but didn't know if it was doable.

"The next time you want to come, let me know and you can sit with Estelle and I," she offered with a smile.

"And I don't mind if you're late. I'm sure the other wives and girlfriends won't mind. They're pretty likable."

"Do you all sit together?" Dulci didn't have a clue how any of that worked. She'd only ever sat with Savannah in the stands amongst other fans.

"Yes and no. A couple of the newer ones sit by themselves while the veteran women sit together. If you came, I'd take you to meet the others."

Dulci shifted uncomfortably in her seat, imagining how the other women would potentially look at her if they knew she was Carly's best friend.

"Don't worry. None of them really liked Carly. She never really sat with us."

Dulci looked at Vero, unsure of what to say. How did she know about Dulci's reservations when it came to the Carly situation?

"I've known Sid for a long time. He tells Marc just about everything. Let's just say he was into you the night he walked into your house," Vero gave Dulci a sly smile, causing Dulci to chuckle, embarrassed that he would tell anyone that story.

"That was really embarrassing. It's not everyday your friend's boyfriend walks into your house while your in an intimate position," Dulci put her hands over her face to hide the redness.

"Regardless of the circumstances, he adores you. It's been quite sometime since I've seen him this happy," Vero said as she pulled out various salad dressings.

Before Dulci had a chance to respond, she heard Sidney and Marc enter the kitchen. When she turned around, she saw Estelle gripping Sidney's finger as he slowly walked her in, still discussing strategies from the optional skate. She could feel her uterus squeeze when she saw how good Sidney was with her. Without skipping a beat, Sid picked her up and held her when she whined for him, reaching upward, desperately wanting to be held.

"What are you two talking about?" Sidney asked, entertaining Estelle by bopping her on the nose, making her laugh.

"Nothing of your concern," Vero quipped, smiling deviously at him.

"They're probably talking about us," Marc shouted from the bathroom.

"Marc, don't you dare destroy that bathroom! We have guests!" Vero yelled as she walked into the pantry.

"Isn't she cute," Sidney asked Dulci, pinching Estelle's cheek playfully.

"She a little taken with you," Dulci nodded, smiling as she watched them play.

"Too bad for her I'm taken with someone else," Sidney whispered as he leaned in and kissed Dulci's cheek, swatting her butt playfully.

Estelle looked confused, and at first Dulci figured she didn't understand, but when her lower lip tucked and her chin started to quiver, it became very apparent that she understood. She screamed at the top of her lungs, large tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Vero ran out of the pantry, thinking Estelle was hurt.

"I kissed Dulci's cheek and she started crying."

"Sidney Patrick Crosby. Breaking my little girl's heart," Vero said sarcastically.

When Estelle stopped sobbing, Sidney gently wiped the tears off her cheeks. Dulci thought she must've forgiven him because she put her head on his shoulder, sucking her thumb.

"Let's get you fed, young lady," Vero took Estelle from Sidney, placing her in her highchair.

The doorbell rang. Dulci thought it was just the five of them. Did they invite others to partake in the dinner?

"Sid, would you mind getting that. It's the pizza delivery person," Vero strapped Estelle in.

"Marc burnt the chicken earlier and I didn't have time to get anything," she explained as she helped Estelle eat her peas.

"I thought about bringing something, but he insisted against it." She should've listened to her gut.

"Men are clueless sometimes, am I right?" Vero shook her head, rolling her eyes before wiping Estelle's hands when she took a handful of macaroni and cheese.

Dulci could hear the delivery guy gushing to Sid about how he was his biggest fan. When she walked around the corner toward the front door, she watched as Sidney accommodated the delivery guy with a picture and autograph.

The rest of the evening went by quickly, the four adults laughing and talking about any subject that arose. Sidney sat next to Estelle, playing high five hurts or peekaboo with her.

"If he wasn't the best at his day job, I'd hire him as her nanny," Vero leaned in to whisper to Dulci.

"He is really good with her. I didn't expect it."

"He's like that with all of the kids and babies he meets. He's going to be a great dad." Vero looked at Dulci, who was trying to hide her hard swallow at the image of Sidney with his own children.

"I'm betting he'd make a great husband, too," Vero winked at Dulci, nudging her with her elbow under the table.

"I'm sure a very lucky lady will find out some day," she said quietly, not wanting the two men to hear their discussion.

"And I'm almost positive that lucky lady will be you," she wiggled her eyebrows at her, causing Dulci to choke on her wine, laughing at Vero's gesture. It was a nice thought to daydream about, but Dulci knew it was way too early in their relationship to be considering marriage.

Sidney looked at Dulci with a confused smile on his face. He didn't know what the two were talking about, but he was glad they were getting along, not that he thought they'd clash.

"Oww. I got wine up my nose," she said through laughter.

"She's a comedienne, that one," Marc pointed his fork toward Vero in the kitchen.

"Uh oh. My charm isn't working for her anymore," Sid picked Estelle up from her highchair, placing her on his leg as he finished his pizza. When he put it on his plate to take a drink, Estelle put her little hand on the slice, immersing it in the sauce before putting her sauce-covered hand on his cheek. Dulci put her hand over he mouth to muffle the giggling as he continued to eat with a handprint on his face. Out of nowhere, Sid put his pointer finger onto his face and rubbed some sauce on her cheek, making her giggle loudly. It melted Dulci's heart.

"Alright big girl, its time for your bath," Vero took Estelle off of Sidney's lap. She whined slightly before disappearing upstairs with Vero.

"You guys better leave before Sid gets stuck putting her to bed again," Marc laughed as he gathered the empty plates.

"He had to fit his big ass into her small bed and read her a couple of books before she finally went to sleep," Marc recounted, laughing to Dulci.

"I'm sure that was quite a sight to see," Dulci added.

The three headed to the door, Sid and Dulci putting on their outerwear.

"I'm sure I'll have to listen to Estelle cry all night because her boyfriend is leaving," Marc rolled his eyes.

"Don't let them leave yet Marc! I want to say goodbye to Dulci!" Vero yelled from the second floor.

"Let me swap with her. It was great to see you. Come back with this one anytime," Marc said to Dulci, thumb pointing to Sid before running two stairs at a time to find Vero. A second later, Vero appeared from the second story.

"Thank you for coming over, Dulci! Let me know if you have any days off. I'd love to go for lunch or pedicure or something!" Vero pulled Dulci into a friendly hug.

"I'd really like that."

Sounds of a screaming baby filled the house, and Vero shook her head in a motherly way.

"You guys should go. She's not happy. Dulci, Sid will give you my number. I'll talk from you soon." Vero quickly hugged Sid before opening the door to see them out. As Sid and Dulci were walking back to his car, they could hear Vero speaking French loudly as she shut the door.

"Did you have a good time?" Sid asked as he buckled his seat belt.

"They're incredibly nice and easy to talk to. I had a great time," Dulci said with contentment in her voice.

By the time they got back to Sid's house, neither could keep their hands off of the other. They were making out in his car, awkwardly leaning over the center console like teenagers, stretching in angels that would leave both with sore muscles in the morning.

"Fuck this," Sid muttered against Dulci's mouth, pulling her over the center console into his lap while pushing his seat as far back as it would go. Dulci straddled him, one leg wedged between his thigh and the console while the other fell between the door and the driver's seat.

"Oww," she pulled back, trying to find a spot on the seat for her leg. The problem was that his legs took up too much space. This was the moment she had been anticipating all day, and a little pain would not be what stopped her.

Sidney reclined his seat all the way down and pulled her on top of him, rubbing his hands up her shirted back before pushing them into her jeans and underwear, squeezing her ass, slipping his tongue into her mouth. He could taste the wine on her lips.

Dulci sat up, putting herself on display to him, and slowly started to unbutton her plaid flannel shirt starting from the bottom. He never took his eyes away as her fingers moved from button to button, teasing him. When she got to the top, he caressed her abdomen, parting the shirt to see her. When he saw that her bra was completely sheer, leaving nothing to the imagination, he sat up and pushed her backward into the sheering wheel, kissing her roughly and eagerly. They both jumped when they realized she was pressing on the car horn. It was close to 9PM at this point and he didn't want to wake his neighbors.

"Let's go inside," he suggested between kisses, adjusting his uncomfortable erection in his jeans.

Dulci tried to quickly fix her shirt while she slipped her flats back on.

"Don't bother, because it's coming off right when he get inside the door," he said huskily as he opened her door, taking her hand to step out.

They jogged to his front door, and as Sid was trying to fish his keys out of his pocket, Dulci decided to start early. She stepped in front of him, kissing and gently biting his neck where he sprays his aphrodisiac of a cologne while unbuckling his belt.

"Jesus Christ," he groaned when her hand wrapped around his penis, stroking slowly due to the confines of his jeans. Holding himself up against the door with one hand, he finally unlocked his door and unarmed his security system while Dulci jerked him off.

The moment they were inside, he kicked his door shut and pushed her against it. He pulled her hand out of his pants and pinned it behind her with her other arm, holding both her wrists in one hand. He quickly unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them half way down her thighs with her underwear. Licking his pointer and middle finger of his free hand, he touched her clit lightly, making her squirm between him and his door, pushing her pelvis into his fingers. He moved his fingers in big circles, watching her throw her head back against the door, moaning loudly. He watched as her breasts heaved, a light sheen of sweat forming on her face and chest. He picked up the pace with his fingers, moving in smaller, tighter circles as her clit became engorged. She almost buckled when he slipped his fingers inside her, brushing against her g-spot.

"Oh my god, please do that again," she moaned breathily, grinding against his hand.

"This?" he asked as he repeated the tight circles before slipping his fingers in, this time racking them against her g-spot, making her cry out, hitching a leg around his waist to get him to go deeper. He took the opportunity to switch arms, removing her pants from that leg before hooking her leg over the arm that kept her hands behind her. He was better with his right hand anyway. He ran his fingers between her folds to get them wet before he tried something new. He started with tight circles with his thumb before adding his pointer finger, squeezing and rolling the nub between his fingers.

"Faster," Dulci pleaded, looking at him with that familiar sensual look, the one that had a fine line between pain and pleasure. She was close, and while he knew she liked what he was doing, he knew her better than that. He pushed his fingers inside of her, this time going at a fast pace as he put as much pressure against her g-spot as possible. When she started to come on his hand, he let go of her hands so he could cradle her ass as she started to sink down the door. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him close as she whimpered into his ear, trembling against him as she finished coming.

She didn't realize it immediately, but he carried her into another room, which looked to be his office. He laid her on his desk, fully removing her jeans and underwear that were hanging off of one leg. She watched as he pulled his shirt off, and when he removed his belt, she slid off of the desk. She knelt in front of him and took him fully into her mouth, all the way to the base. She pulled back slowly until he was out of her mouth, bobbing in front of her face, and then licked from the base to the tip, finishing by pushing him back down her throat again.

"Holy shit," he huffed between moans, watching as she sucked him off, jerking her hand in the opposite direction of the sucking. It created a type of friction he'd never felt before. What was even more sexy is that her other hand was on his ass, pulling him into her mouth. It felt so good that he was hardly aware that her hand disappeared from his ass. He looked down when she started moaning real moans against his dick and noticed she was rubbing her clit. The sight was enough for him to come, and he knew if she continued, he'd blow in seconds.

Dulci was no longer on her knees in front of him. She was facing his computer, back to him. He pushed her down so her stomach was in contact with the desk.

"Don't move," he demanded darkly as squeezed her ass. She thought for sure he was going to fuck her from behind, but when she felt his tongue flick her clit from behind, she stood straight up in surprise. He gently but forcefully pushed her back down, bending one of her knees and placing it on the desk, giving him all the access he needed. He sucked her clit hard, making Dulci grip the edge of the desk and her leg for support. She was rigid, uncomfortable with the idea that he was so close to the only place she'd never sexually explored and she was fully exposed, but as he continued to go down on her, she found herself opening up more to him, gripping her own ass overtop of his hands, finding it difficult not to grind against his face.

Then he was inside of her, as far as he could go without physically hurting her. He set a nice, hard rhythm, making all of the freestanding objects on his desk rattle, some falling over the edge. She was insatiable, racking her nails against her ass as he fucked her hard, the dark red nail polish contrasting against the white skin. The way she touched herself got him so hot that he couldn't watch. He caught her wrists again and pinned them behind her, reaching around to rub her clit as he continued.

She cried obscenities as he rotated, leaning against her lower end, putting his hand next to her head for support. It provided a new angle for her, the head of his penis rubbing the good spot.

"Fuck me harder," she groaned, close to release. He doubled his pace, not even caring if his computer toppled off his desk and shattered. All he could hear was his heart beating, Dulci moaning, and the sound of their skin slapping against each other.

Then, he felt it, the familiar feeling that he had grown to love. It felt like he'd hit a brick wall inside of her, the signal that she was going to come.

"Ohh fuck," he groaned, knowing he'd be close behind, if not during. He looked at her profile lying against his desk, her eyes squeezed shut and her mouth open as she let out an incredibly sexy groan, drawing in breath loudly as her entire body locked up with intense pleasure. He'd started to come the moment she broke, letting the contractions squeeze him empty before he carefully pulled out of her.

They both slinked to the ground, exhausted. Sid pulled Dulci on top of him, running his hands through her hair.

"I've never done that before," Dulci said softly, running her fingers up and down his ribcage.

"Never done what?"

"The thing you did from behind," she stuttered, feeling suddenly bashful when she talked about it. He looked at her with a confused look. She'd had to have had sex from behind before.

"With your mouth," she specified, blushing.

"Neither have I, but the opportunity presented itself so I went with it," he shrugged.

"I liked it," she whispered against his chest, bearing it all to him.

"Oh, I could tell," he said as he rolled on top of her, kissing her deeply.

"Lets go to bed," he said as he pulled away, rising to his knees, helping her up.

Once they got upstairs, they snuggled ontop of his comforter, both still hot from their physical exertion in his office. Dulci was watching television when Sid's phone starting vibrating. She could feel him reach for it, but he didn't answer.

"Why is she calling?" he asked curtly.

"Who?" She sat up some, not used to a nasty tone from him.

"Carly," he said pressing ignore before turning his phone off and settling back in.

Dulci tried to be nonchalant, playing aloof, shrugging her shoulders when he looked at her. Inside, she knew why Carly was calling. She was probably back in town to fuck everything up.


	24. Chapter 24

Dulci pulled into her driveway, sighing because she knew she probably wouldn't see Sid for almost three weeks. Between her night shifts and his intensive practice, workout, and game schedule, the likelihood that they'd see each other was very slim.

She let her head fall against the head rest, closing her eyes, exhausted by how early she left Sid's house. It was six-something in the morning and she would be working until at least 2AM, if not later depending on emergencies. She smiled at the memory of him urging and begging her to stay in bed and sleep while he went to practice, hoping she'd still be there when he returned, but the idea of being in his house without him seemed strange.

She opened her front door, greeted by the loud meowing and purring of Meatball who weaved in between Dulci's legs, almost tripping her in the process.

"Meaty, it's just you and I for a while," Dulci picked her up, scratching behind Meatball's ears as the cat leaned into it.

She carried Meatball into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator as Meatball jumped down. Dulci was starving. She raided her refrigerator for something to eat, deciding to treat herself to homemade Eggs Benedict. As she poured the hollandaise sauce on the eggs, she decided to take a picture.

**You're missing out. :-)**

She knew Sid loved breakfast, and thought a playful flirty text to him would help with their less than desirable situation. She sat at her table, browsing the local news on her iPad. She sipped on her coffee, savoring the smooth taste as she warned her hands on the mug.

**Please move in already so you can make breakfast every morning.**

She tried to think of a quick witty response, but couldn't think of anything immediately. She started typing a message insinuating that he should give her a key but another text came through from him.

**Speaking of missing out, will I be missing out my team Canada hoodie when I get home?**

He was referring to Dulci eyeballing the sweatshirt that he wore the previous evening. She slipped it on in the middle of the night when she got up to go to the bathroom and he never saw her take it off before he left to head to the rink.

**Maybe**.

Dulci was still wearing it, occasionally catching herself burning her face in the collar, smelling a mixture of faded cologne and Sidney's natural scent. She intended on keeping it until she saw him again, hoping to sleep with it as a replacement for him.

**Are you still wearing it?**

Dulci contemplated her answer. Would he think she was creepy if she said yes or would he fine it endearing?

**Maybe**.

She stared outside her window, feeling overwhelmingly tired as she saw how gloomy the sky was. She wanted to get some cleaning done, but when she felt her eyelids getting heavy, she decided she'd take a nap. She settled into her bed, Meatball jumping up to lay next to her, and turned her television on.

**Are you wearing anything underneath?**

She looked at her phone, rereading his last text over and over, sure that she misread it. He was at practice so there was no way he was sending her suggestive messages. She knew he was the captain, but wouldn't that get him into trouble?

**Should I be concerned that you're texting me instead of practicing? **

After a few minutes of mindless television, she felt herself drifting off until her phone vibrate on her stomach

**I'm being evaluated by the medical team. I messed up my shoulder this morning and they're trying to decide if it's muscle or ligament related.**

Dulci sat up against her pillows, wanting to call him to make sure he was ok. She was in the process of inquiring how he hurt his shoulder when another text came through.

**Are you ignoring my lewd question on purpose?**

She shook her head and sighed longingly, wanting him even though it had only been an hour since they parted. It was going to be less than satisfying taking care of herself the old fashioned way, and his naughty texts weren't helping.

**You're just going to have to come over and find out.**

At this point, Dulci was wide awake, clutching her phone like an adolescent waiting for a phone call from a crush. Her whole body hummed with anticipation. Would he actually come over? She never considered that they could see one another between the time his practice ended and she left for the hospital.

**Take a picture and send it.**

She froze, eyes wide and mouth gawking at her phone. She laughed out loud thinking he must've been given some kind of narcotic to help with pain. She'd never been brazen enough to take an erotic picture of herself for a guy and she'd never wanted to. While the sexy texts were surprising enough, what was even more unexpected was the fact that she wanted to take a picture for him.

**Of the sweatshirt?**

She decided to flirt with him coyly, trying to lure him over. She didn't care if they had sex, she just wanted to be near him.

**Of what's under the sweatshirt...**

He was incorrigible. She decided she wouldn't take a full on nude picture. She thought it was tasteless. Instead, she decided on unfolding her legs, stretching them across the bed to elongate them. The first picture she took reminded her of girls at the beach, taking pictures of the ocean with their legs showing. The second picture was a little more racy. She decided on pulling the elastic if the oversized sweatshirt above her underwear, showing the black lacy hipster underwear off a little. Before she hit send, she considered that his teammates could potentially see the pictures, and if she met anymore of them, they would only remember her from what was in the picture.

**I can't. What if someone sees your phone?**

She jumped out of bed, racing to her dresser to pull put the most suggestive, sexy bra she owned, just incase she decided to take the picture a bit further.

**Don't worry, I'm alone icing my shoulder.**

She pressed send, hoping none of his teammates saw any pictures, not that she thought he'd do it on purpose. While she had a strange relationship with Henry, she considered herself to be a moderately modest person. She remembered Carly always teasing her for wearing one-piece bathing suits and high-necked shirts. She wasn't going to flash her body around for everyone to see.

**God I love your legs.**

She blushed fiercely, hugging her knees to her chest.

**Especially when my head is between them.**

"Oh my God," Dulci breathed out loud, feeling blood pour into the pit of her stomach. She wasn't expecting that at all. She liked dirty talking, and the fact that he was doing it incognito at practice made it dangerous, and she liked it. She peeled the sweatshirt off and changed into the sexiest bra she owned. She was in the process of plumping them up when her doorbell rang.

"God damn it..." she huffed, irritated that someone would dare interrupt her and Sid's naughty text session. She threw on her jeans from last night and a long sleeved henley, smoothing it out at she answered the door. She stopped herself from gasping out loud by squeezing the door nob as hard as she could. This couldn't be happening.

"Dulci!"

Carly threw her arms around Dulci, clasping tightly, rocking them side-to-side, gleefully squealing. Dulci had to remind herself to react.

"Hi Carly," Dulci choked out, finding it difficult to breathe all of a sudden, like someone punched her in the diaphragm, especially when she heard her phone vibrating in the other room. She knew it was Sidney texting another deliciously inappropriate comment.

"What's the matter? You look like I'm the last person you want to see," Carly asked concernedly, slightly frowning as she pulled away from Dulci.

"I'm just surprised to see you, that's all. I thought you were going to be in England for a while," Dulci struggled to come up with a feasible fib as she gestured for Carly to come inside, noticing the amount of luggage Carly brought with her.

"I don't meant to put you out, but I'm going to be in town for a couple of days, and I thought maybe I could stay with you since I sold my apartment. Is that ok?"

Dulci was happy her back was turned to Carly because her face had the most painful, annoyed, and guilty expression.

"That should be fine. I'm scheduled to work the night shift for the next two weeks, so I wont be around much," Dulci took a long sip of water, imagining it was something stronger like tequila. Her only saving grace is that she wouldn't have to worry about Sidney showing up at the house. He knew she'd be at the hospital every night.

"Good! Best friends like old times!" Carly clapped as she sat down at Dulci's kitchen island.

"I tried calling Sid last night," Carly changed the subject, flipping through text messages on her cellphone. "I can't say I'm surprised he ignored my call. He probably has a new girlfriend already."

Dulci choked on her water, slamming the glass on the counter, splashing water everywhere as she grabbed at her chest with one hand and raised the other above her head.

"Jesus, Dulci," Carly jumped off the stool to come to Dulci's aid, patting on her back.

"Are you ok? You've been weird and skittish since I came in. What's going on?" Carly looked at Dulci suspiciously, putting her hands on her hips.

"Nothing is wrong," Dulci wiped her eyes from the coughing fit. She could hear how defensive her tone was and cringed. She'd never lied to someone as much as she's lied to Carly, and she felt awful.

"I was in the process of falling asleep when you rang the doorbell and it startled me, that's all." It wasn't completely a lie. If she hadn't sent Sid the Eggs Benedict picture, she would've been napping for her night shift.

"God. I could use a nap. I'm starving though. Let's go get some brunch. I'll buy us mimosas! I need to change clothes," Carly smiled as she took two of her bags and walked them into the guest bedroom.

Dulci took the opportunity to go into her bedroom and locked the door behind her, knowing she only had a dismal amount of time before Carly would be looking for her. She picked up her phone to see missed calls from Sid. She fell onto her bed, wishing she would've stayed at Sid's house after all. How different the morning would've unfolded.

She pulled herself up and changed her shirt.

"Dulci? Are you ready?" Carly knocked on her bedroom door.

"Yeah, just changing my shirt," Dulci unlocked and opened it for Carly to enter. She watched as Carly surveyed the room for any changes. She was thankful the Team Canada shirt was inside out next to the opposite side of the bed. That would've been a dead give away.

"Let's go! I have so much to tell you," Carly opened Dulci's front door and pulled Dulci out, shutting it behind them. Dulci inhaled slowly, contemplating whether or not it would be wise to tell Carly about her and Sid.

"I met someone, and I'm in love," Carly took a sip of her mimosa with a bright smile. Dulci exhaled, finally able to relax a little knowing the phone call last night more than likely wasn't a booty call or an attempt to get back into Sid's life. "He's better than any guy I've ever been with. He blows Sid out of the water in every way. I want to marry him."

"Wow! I never thought I'd hear those words uttered from your mouth. You always said you weren't the marrying kind," Dulci commented, interesting to find out what made Carly want to get married.

"I know! He makes me feel like I'm the only thing that's important. He puts me first, like he's never cared about anything else in the world."

"That sounds really great. I'm glad you've found him," Dulci said honestly, happy that Carly found someone special.

"And… the sex is fucking amazing," Carly closed her eyes as if remembering a particular moment, mouth forming into a dreamy smile. Dulci laughed at Carly's face, fully appreciating the beauty of memories.

"Have you ever had anal sex?" Carly asked, blocking her mouth from the other patrons at the restaurant. Dulci shook her head no. Of all the kinky stuff she tried with Henry, that was never on the table.

"Not even with Henry? You've been with that guy for like a thousand years," Carly asked in disbelief.

"He never asked and I never really considered trying it," Dulci took a sip of her latte.

"I've always wanted to try it. I never tried with Sid because his freaking penis was way to big," Carly said shaking her head.

Dulci laughed out loud. The irony of the situation made her laugh hysterically. She laughed because it would keep her from crying.

"Seriously, Dulci. His penis is big!" Carly gestured the length with her hand, laughing at the ridiculousness of their conversation in a proper restaurant.

"Is that bad?" Dulci asked, shrugging her shoulders. She personally thought it was a nice penis, perfect all around.

"It is if you want to try it in your butt. Trust me when I say it's a must. You've got to use a lot of lube, though," Carly winked.

"You've always been very eloquent with your words, Carly," Dulci said sarcastically, making Carly laugh.

They continued to talk about anything and everything, apart from Dulci dating Sid. When Carly asked about Dulci's love life, she remained as vague as possible, leaving no clues as to whom she was seeing. Once Dulci could gauge Carly's reaction better, she'd eventually tell her.

"Oh. I've been meaning to tell you this," Carly said, suddenly serious. "Thank you for helping me with the situation before I left for England. I never got a chance to tell you, but I decided not to have it done..."

Dulci felt like she was free falling, going over the first drop of a roller coaster. Her stomach was in her throat, literally. Before Carly continued talking, Dulci quickly excused herself and headed to the bathroom. She knew it all along. Her gut reaction was right. Carly was still pregnant. She heaved over the toilet, embarrassed at how loud it sounded. She was so lost in her anxious thoughts that she didn't hear the stall door open. The only indicator that someone was there was Carly's hand rubbing Dulci's back.

"I paid already. We should get you home and in bed. You looked green before you ran to the bathroom," Carly helped Dulci get to her feet, offering her some wet paper towels to drape over her neck.

"I'm actually ok. This happened yesterday around the same time. I think its anxiety. It comes on suddenly and then I'm fine," Dulci washed her hands and gargled with water.

"Have you missed a period?"

"Carly, I haven't had a period in over a year. My IUD stopped them. I doubt I'm pregnant," Dulci threw her hair into a ponytail, feeling flushed.

"I wouldn't trust those things. I'd take a test. We'll stop and get you one on the way back to your house," Carly said while offering Dulci her vest and bag, exiting the bathroom.

"I'm not pregnant, but wouldn't it be fun if we were pregnant at the same time? Dulci joked, trying to make light of the situation like Carly would do, even though deep inside Dulci found it disgusting that two friends were pregnant with the same man's child. Carly looked puzzled, like Dulci said something in a foreign language.

"I'm not pregnant."

"You just said you decided not to go through with it," Dulci reminded Carly, giving her a questioning look.

"That was before you turned green and ran to the bathroom. I didn't go to our GYN's office because they know me. I wanted to be a little more anonymous than that. I went to planned parenthood," Carly explained once they were in the car.

As they were driving down the road, Dulci couldn't contain her excitement. She was over the moon that Carly wasn't pregnant like she originally thought. That weight had been lifted, and the idea of telling Carly about her relationship with Sidney seemed like it would be somewhat easier without a baby involved.

Carly pulled into a Target parking lot, taking the keys out of the ignition.

"Carly, we don't need to get a test. I'm not pregnant," Dulci tried to convince Carly not to go in.

"Look, you can stay in the car, but I'm getting you a damn test," she smiled as she shut the car and started walking toward the door.

Within a couple of minutes, she was back, tossing the box on Dulci's lap as she resituated herself.

"What are you going to do if it's positive?" Carly inquired before yelling at another driver.

"I won't have to do anything because your driving is going to kill us both," Dulci gripped the door handle as Carly weaved in and out of traffic. She closed her eyes, feeling queasy and hot again, hoping she could make it home before she vomited. The constant jerking of the car only exasperated the nausea.

"Please pull over," Dulci demanded, and before Carly stopped the car on the shoulder, Dulci opened the door and threw up.

"Oh my God. You're definitely pregnant."

Dulci couldn't help but think maybe Carly was right. She closed her eyes and reclined her seat all the way back, hoping Carly would get them to her house in one piece.

Ten minutes later, Dulci put the used test on the sink, looking at her watch for the two minute starting time. She walked out toward the kitchen to find Carly watching television. She changed into a pair of running shorts and a long sleeved light top, hoping it would help with the flush feeling Dulci felt since brunch. She rolled her eyes when she noticed what Carly was watching.

"I'm just getting you prepared for what's to come," Carly joked, patting the cushion next to her.

"I'm too antsy to sit down. And that is not funny," Dulci pointed to the birthing show, particularly the crowning baby.

"Dulci, you'll be fine. You were last time and this time is no different."

Except, it was different. She wasn't in her second and most demanding year of veterinary school. She wasn't taking accutane, and she wasn't with Jason anymore. She had a career, was established financially, and was with a man that seemed to be Mr. Right. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if she were pregnant.

Dulci looked at her watch, it had been four minutes.

"I guess it's now or never," Dulci said reluctantly. Carly took her hand and walked with her to the bathroom.

"I'm afraid," Dulci whispered.

"Don't be. I'm right here, just like you were for me," Carly squeezed her hand.

She picked it up, looking at the results. It took her a moment to fully comprehend the symbol.

"This can't be."

Carly took the stick and read it.

"Its positive."

"No fucking way," Dulci took the test back, staring aimlessly at it, knowing statistically that it was almost impossible.

"We'll make an appointment to see the GYN to confirm. Are you going to tell Henry?" Carly asked as she sat Dulci on the toilet. Dulci looked at her, knowing she had to tell her the truth. The situation was already muddy.

"Its not Henry," Dulci rubbed her knotted stomach, the anxiety cramps becoming very painful.

"I thought he was your boyfriend," Carly sat on the lip of the bathtub.

"He's not. He never was. We were friends with benefits," Dulci explained.

"So who's your boyfriend?"

_Here goes nothing… _

Dulci looked Carly in the eye, pleading with her not to lash out irrationally. All of the guilt she'd been feeling about her betrayal welled up, trying to burst through her eyes.

"Its Sidney," Dulci admitted, looking down, waiting for the reaction.

"Really?"

Dulci picked her head up quickly, almost alarmed at how excited Carly sounded. She had a giant grin on her face and pulled Dulci into hug, catching her off guard.

"I knew you two would hit it off! I could see it in the way he looked at you."

Carly stepped out of the bathroom, jogging out of sight. Dulci blushed thinking about what Carly said. She wasn't even slightly upset. The entire day seemed surreal, like this was Dulci's naptime dream that she would awake to shortly. Carly reappeared with Dulci's phone.

"Call him and tell him," Carly urged, sitting back on the bathtub rim.

"I'd rather go to the doctor first. It could be a false positive," Dulci reasoned with herself more than to Carly.

"Well then call the GYN and demand an appointment tomorrow morning."

Dulci nodded, taking her phone and calling her GYN.

"Hi. My name is Dulci Hammett. I need to make an appointment as soon as possible. I have an IUD and I think I may be pregnant. Tomorrow at 9:45 will work. Thank you."

Dulci hung up the phone, looking at Carly who had a giant grin on her face.

"Let's go look at baby stuff. Oh! You know what would be so adorable? A little Penguins sweater with "Crosby" on the back…"

Dulci followed Carly to the living room but didn't listen to a work she said. She wanted to take a long nap. She slunk onto the couch, thinking about how her life could turn upside down tomorrow morning, and the more she thought about the idea of pregnancy, the more she didn't seem to mind.


	25. Chapter 25

It was an unusually slow night at the hospital, giving Dulci more than enough time to overthink the pervious twenty-four hours. She tapped her pen against her desk, rubbing her forehead as three questions entered her mind over and over; why wasn't Carly angry, why did she call him last night, and how would Sidney react if Dulci was in fact pregnant? The possibilities of the latter question made her stomach turn.

Shaking the questions away, she focused on her crossword puzzle, hoping to distract herself.

"New Order's hit song '_ Love Triangle'."

She filled in the letters slowly. B-I-Z-A-R-R-E.

"Bizarre Love Triangle... Story of my life," she said to herself, referring to her complicated situation. It all seemed to good to be true, and Dulci was extremely skeptical of how smooth the sailing seemed to be with Carly. She'd been sleeping with her ex-boyfriend shortly after Carly and Sid broke up, and Dulci omitted the information from Carly, practically keeping it a secret. If it wasn't for the fact that she may have been pregnant, Carly would still be ignorant to it.

Dulci flipped the switch for a moment, thinking about how she'd react to Carly sleeping with Jason after they broke up. She'd be livid, blood boiling, seething. Why was Carly so ok with it? Dulci thought back to all the boyfriends Carly had dated. She'd been unfaithful to all of them. Maybe that was the difference. Dulci didn't believe in anything other than monogamy. She wouldn't and couldn't ever sleep with two people at the same time. Carly always said when she was done with a guy, she wouldn't look back. How was it so simple for Carly to except Dulci and Sid together?

Dulci had to get to the bottom of it. She picked up her phone and called Carly. She was nervous to see what her neuroses would do to their friendship.

"Hello?" Carly sounded groggy, like she'd been sleeping for a long time. Dulci looked at her watch. It was only 9:36pm.

"Hey. Sorry to wake you. I just have to ask you something for my own sanity," Dulci twirled her ponytail anxiously, trying to calm her leg from bouncing.

"Sure. What's up?" Carly yawned.

Dulci could hear Carly sitting up on the bed, giving her undivided attention.

"I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to come out and ask it..." Dulci cleared her throat. "Are you sure your ok with Sid and I?" She held her breath waiting for the answer.

"Dulci. I've never been happier for you in my life, and I'm one selfish bitch," Carly exclaimed. "I'll admit I was a little shocked, but in a good way. Don't you remember sitting in my old apartment and me telling you that you two would be perfect for each other? I meant it. I told him the same thing in not so many words. Were you nervous that I'd be upset?"

"Yes," Dulci said without hesitation.

"Not at all. Things happen for a reason. One door closes and another door opens. If I was the catalyst that brought you to him, and you're truly happy together, than I'm elated that I could do that for you, for you both." Dulci could hear the genuine smile in Carly's voice. It helped her relax.

"And, when you talked about him yesterday at the restaurant, I've never seen you talk about anyone like that. You've got it bad for him," Carly giggled suggestively, making Dulci laugh as well.

"And I'm sure the feeling is mutual, hence why he ignored my call last night," Carly added.

"Why did you call him?" Dulci asked with bated breath, afraid she already knew the answer.

"Because you wouldn't answer your phone. I'd just landed and needed a place to stay. When your phone went straight to voicemail, I called him," Carly explained casually.

"Why didn't you just go to a hotel until you got a hold of me?"

"I'm not wasting my money on a hotel when I have friends who live nearby," Carly insisted. She must've know Dulci was still concerned about the call to Sid.

"Look, I know I haven't been the best girlfriend in the past, but I wouldn't do that to Andy. It's different with him. And had I known you were with Sid, I definitely wouldn't have called. I can see why you'd be questioning that."

Dulci audibly exhaled, not exactly trusting of Carly's explanation, but she sounded genuine, so Dulci decided she'd trust her.

"Take a deep breath. He's all yours."

"But it feels so weird, and wrong, like you should be furious with me," Dulci thought out loud, unable to fully accept Carly's casualness and excitement.

"Says who? Society? Please." Carly scoffed with a laugh.

"And, now we have one more thing in common. We're mountain sisters!"

Dulci furrowed her brows, trying to understand the reference.

"Carly? What exactly are mountain sisters?"

Carly's laughter erupted through the receiver, making Dulci hold the phone out from her head a few inches. She didn't get it, and the laughter made her embarrassed, like she was being made fun of.

"I'm sorry," Carly stifled her laughter. "Mountain sisters-girls that have climbed the same mountain."

"Christ, Carly," Dulci said shaking her head. Only she'd come up with a ridiculous, inappropriate comment about two friends being with the same guy.

All of a sudden, Dulci heard a lot of commotion in the treatment area. She walked to the entrance of the office, saw that three of the technicians were trying to revive a Great Dane.

"Carly, I've gotta go," Dulci hung up the phone and ran to the emergency.

The room was covered in pictures and diagrams of pregnant women. Some of the diagrams included month-to-month difference of how nipples and breasts changed and how big a stomach grew. Dulci looked down at her breasts as she changed into the gown, thinking about how different they'd look. As she read the captions of the pictures, she gasped lightly at the idea that her nipples would be sore. Nipple stimulation was one of her favorite parts of sex. She studied the differences in pigmentation between pre and post pregnancy nipples. How difference would it really be? And would they stay that way once a baby was born?

Dulci lied down on the table, trying not to over think it. She didn't know for sure whether she was actually pregnant. Other than the acute vomiting episodes, she felt completely normal. She'd heard women say that they could feel it when they were pregnant, that they just knew. She didn't feel anything.

There was a knock at the door, followed by her doctor and the ultrasound machine.

"Good morning Dulci! I'm Dr. Watson. I'm going to take a look at your belly with the ultrasound while the girls run your lab work," she smiled as set up the probe, pulling out a tube of ultrasound gel.

The gel was cold, causing Dulci to flinch and brake out in goose bumps.

"I know it's cold. Just try to relax," her gynecologist told her.

She just had a string of blood work done, a pregnancy test and hormonal blood work. While the nurses ran the tests, her doctor decided to ultrasound her to check for pregnancy. Having worked with an ultrasound at the hospital, Dulci found herself leaning over the bed to see the screen, making it difficult for the doctor to properly examine her.

"Dulci, I know you're familiar with ultrasounds, but I need you to sit back."

"I'm sorry, I'm just anxious," Dulci sighed, sitting back, staring at the ceiling.

"That's understandable. I'm sure you're excited," she said happily.

"Not exactly," Dulci said honestly.

Out of her peripheral vision, she saw the doctor lean close to the screen, pushing the probe a little further into her abdomen. Dulci looked at the screen, seeing the abnormality, and her breathing stopped.

"That's your IUD, but if you're trying to conceive, we need to take it out," her doctor told her.

"I'm not trying to get pregnant."

"What made you think your were pregnant," Dr. Watson opened Dulci's chart to start documenting.

"I've been vomiting a lot and took a home pregnancy test that came up positive." Dulci watched as the nurse walked in with paperwork, smiling at Dulci as she exited the exam room.

"You're not pregnant. Your pregnancy test was negative and the ultrasound is normal. We drew extra blood to check your hormone levels for abnormalities. The hormone blood work will be back in a week or two and I'll call you regardless of the results. If something concerns me, we'll discuss it at that point," the doctor said as she excused herself.

Dulci quickly dressed and left, feeling relieved that she wasn't pregnant. She'd been racked with anticipation for so long that she didn't realize how tired she was.

As she stepped into her car, she prayed that she'd be able to make it home without falling asleep. She pulled out her phone to call someone, anyone, to stay awake. She noticed a message from Carly.

**Had to fly back to England last minute. Hope the appointment went well. ;-) I'll call soon.**

Dulci called Sidney, hoping he'd answer to keep her awake, but when she looked at the time, she figured he'd probably still be skating. After a couple of rings, it went straight to voicemail.

"Hi. It's Dulci. Just wanted to say hi and talk so I don't fall asleep on the way home. Hope you're having a good practice. Bye."

"God, that was terribly lame," she shook her head before yawning. The sooner she got home, the better.

Sidney smiled as he listened to Dulci's voicemail. It was close to noon when he listened, having stayed late to take phone interviews after a short press conference. Before he pressed redial, he figured he'd make an impromptu visit to surprise her before she went to work. He stopped by a Thai restaurant, picking up a couple of items for them to have for lunch, knowing she loved all foods Asian.

When he arrived, he could barely contain his excitement to see her. He knocked, think she'd come running to the door, into his arms. They'd eat good food, have mind-blowing sex, then sleep it off until she had to go to work. To his surprise, she never came to the door. He knocked again, a little harder, thinking he wasn't forceful enough the first time, and still nothing. He turned around to make sure her car was in the driveway like he thought, and it was. Pulling out his phone, he called her, and as the phone rang repeatedly, he thought his spontaneity would be a bust. When it went to voicemail, his entire demeanor changed. As he was in the process of calling her for a second time when her door opened. He tried desperately to hide his smile. She was wearing her usual bedtime attire, but her hair was a mess. It looked like she'd tried to braid it around her head, but it was coming undone. She had one eye shut as she looked at him, taking a moment to realize what was happening as she slowly smiled.

"What a pleasant surprise," she stretched as she walked toward him, leaning up to give him a sleepy kiss. She wasn't expecting to see him anytime soon.

"I couldn't wait to see you," Sidney told her against her lips, walking her backward into her own house, waking her up with his steamy kiss.

"Two weeks is too long," he continued, wondering if he could eat before the sex. Even in her exhausted state, Dulci looked more appetizing than the food. He placed the carry out bag onto the entry table as he continued to back her up, eventually hitting the wall.

"It hasn't even been a week," she reminded him as she kissed along his jawline and down onto his neck, unzipping and pushing his jacket off of his shoulders.

"How the fuck am I supposed to stay away?" he asked as he peeled her sweatshirt off, picking her up by her butt and walking into the living room, sitting down with her on top of him. She pulled herself off of him, looking at him as he panted, visually questioning why she stopped. The way he looked at her, the way he made her feel, she had to tell him how she felt, but she feared that if she said it, those particular three words, he wouldn't reciprocate.

"Who said you have to stay away?" she asked breathily. She'd be more than content if he never left other than to get Sam. As they looked deeply at each other, there was an unspoken exchange, and while her eyes told him she loved him, he hoped his said the same. He reached up, stroking her cheek with his thumb, gently pulling her down for a soft kiss. He wanted to pull her down and kiss her hard, but he wanted to go slow and take his time, show her with his body that he loved her and only her.

The kiss quickly started to sear, both of them trying to get a close to one another as physically and emotionally possible. He played her like an instrument, knowing exactly where she liked kisses, licks, and nips, making her soft moans fill the room. She tried to reciprocate, but he wouldn't let her. He wanted to make her cry in pleasure like the night he begged her not to leave him. He rotated them so she was lying on her back, panting as he took her pants off, watching his every move, fully aroused as she watched him undress, springing upward as he took his briefs off. As she watched him slowly kneel on the couch in front of her, she bit her bottom lip in anticipation.

As he pushed himself half way in, he watched as she closed her eyes, mouth open slightly as she let out a large breath, pushing her head into the couch cushion. He couldn't control the groan that made its way out of his mouth as he watched her massage her own breasts, playing with her own nipples as she subtly moved against his penis. He wasn't sure if she was conscious that she was doing it in front of him, but he loved the show. Without warning, he pushed all the way in, lifting her lower body off the couch. She gasped at the sensation, the newly found pleasure spot that only he knew where it was hidden. She gripped the couch as she opened her eyes to look at him.

"Again?" he asked her as he slowly and shallowly rocked in and out of her, kissing the ankle that was draped over his shoulder. He closed his eyes, willing himself not to come. The depth felt too good for him as well, but he would push through for her. When he heard her moan, "yes," he repeated the deep thrust as he looked at her, covered in signs of sexual arousal.

"Sidney," she choked between a gasp and a moan, not holding anything back, and he loved it. He hated imitation moans, what girls thought guys liked to hear. Too many of them would moan like porn stars, and it was actually an annoyance to him more than anything. He rather enjoyed the guttural sounds she made when they had sex.

"Again?" He knew she wanted it, but he wanted to hear her, or see her erotic expressions as he pushed all the way back in. Only this time, he did something different. As he pushed in so there was not where else to go, he pushed down on her clit with his thumb, watching as she nodded her head holding her breath, tell him to do it again. He put her lifted leg beside him, gripping her hips with both hands as he did it again, holding himself in as she involuntarily shuttered against him, Dulci grabbing her breasts again as she groaned his name. He counted the flushed spots that blossomed all over her body as he continued, knowing it wouldn't be long before she came. Instead of going back and forth between shallow thrusts with a couple of deep, Sidney took her behind both knees, pushing them into the cushion close to her shoulders, and gave her a couple of good, deep thrusts, feeling the familiar pressure build and erupt around him.

Dulci threw her head back as she came, squeezing Sidney's forearms as he pushed into her. It felt different, more saturated and full body for Dulci, like she was empty in the most satisfying way.

As she started to come, Sidney noticed something different, like something was rushing around him, as if someone had opened floodgates. When he looked down, he watched as she came around him, literally, making a mess between them, and all he wanted to do was watch it happen all over again. He picked up his pace, knowing it wouldn't be long for him, and when he watched Dulci lick her pointer and middle fingers before reaching down to rub her own clit, he came hard, collapsing on top of Dulci, groaning loudly into her neck.

They laid on the couch for a while, collecting themselves and catching their breath. He lifted his head, resting on his hitched arm, brushing the sheen of sweat off of Dulci's forehead.

"Are you hungry?" He asked in almost a whisper. She opened her eyes, looked at him with a smile and nodded coyly. He pushed himself up to his feet, pulling her with him. He couldn't help but notice the large wet spot on the couch under her. He smiled, proud of himself for what he made her do as she walked into her bedroom to dress.

When Dulci returned wearing her ratty sweatshirt and spandex pants, she looked at Sid in awe, wearing nothing both boxers as he sat on her couch, legs crossed on the coffee table, shoving a fork full of Pad Thai into his mouth as he directed his full attention to the television.

Grabbing a fork, she joined him on the couch, biting back a smile as she watched him eat. She looked at his bare chest and stomach, wondering how it was that he maintained such great shape. Before long, she was yawning repeatedly, trying hard to stay awake.

"I'd say I'm sorry that I woke you up, but I'm not," Sidney smiled as she put his arm around her, pulling her to him as he kissed her temple.

"I'm not either," she said through a yawn, smiling at him with drowsy eyes.

"If I had a key, I wouldn't have to knock," he suggested as he started eating her food. When she didn't respond, he looked and saw she was dozing off.

"I'll make you one," she mumbled as she snuggled into him further, probably unaware of what she said. He chuckled as she started quietly snoring, and before long, he fell asleep as well.


	26. Chapter 26

It had been eight days since Dulci and Sidney saw one another. While he was on a west coast road trip, Dulci spent as much time as possible at the hospital, working doubles and performing as much surgery as she could to pass the time. It was three o'clock on a Thursday afternoon when Savannah pulled her out of the hospital, deciding that a late lunch and shopping trip would be good for Dulci considering she'd been living in the hospital with Meatball for almost a week.

Dulci couldn't wait to see him. They had talked and face timed whenever they could, but with Dulci working extended hours at the hospital and Sid sharing a room with a teammate, they couldn't really talk, and sexting was not a option anymore, not to mention the fact that she thought she made have overextended her wrist from her few night's alone at her house.

She browsed through the sales wrack at J. Crew Factory, picking up a couple of blouses that she'd been looking at online, mentally dressing herself for her and Sid's get together the following day. She knew she looked good in reds, grays, and blacks, but when she thought that the gray blouse was too boring, she put it back and started the process all over, becoming flustered at how asinine and obsessive she was being about what she would wear.

Dulci had decided that when he called, she'd invite him over for dinner, make him a wonderful meal, and then they'd spend some much needed alone time together. She hadn't told him that Dr. Harrison suggested she take the rest of the week off to recuperate. She wanted to surprise him when they finally saw one another, anticipating how nice their evening and following week will be without any interruptions on her part. Dulci was supposed to be leaving for the Manhattan Veterinary Conference the following day, but since her spot was given to someone else, she decided she'd take the week off anyway and enjoy a much needed home vacation.

As she stood in the check out line, she decided that she'd either make beef wellington, chicken cordon bleu, or seared tuna. She pulled out her cellphone to make a grocery list of the items she needed, noticing how domesticated she felt in that moment, smiling at how heartwarming it felt to be cooking for someone special to her, even if she hadn't told him how important he was in her life. As she was finishing her list, she received a text from Savannah, who had wondered into the lingerie shop a few doors down, holding up a piece of costume lingerie with a "yay or nay?" underneath. When Dulci arrived, she easily found Savannah in the same section, holding the lingerie under her arm.

"So what do we think?" Savannah gestured toward the hanger, holding it up.

"I didn't realize you were into lingerie like this," Dulci said as she touched the frilly lace surrounding the nonexistent skirt of the dress. "But I'd say yay if you like it. Have you tried it on? Do you try these things on?" Dulci asked confused about the protocol of trying on items at a lingerie store. She walked over to the wrack, finding more pieces of costume lingerie, her favorite being the nurse outfit with cut outs for the breasts.

"Its not for me," Savannah cleared her throat, affectively getting Dulci's attention.

"Who is it for?" Dulci asked absentmindedly as she peered toward the more practical side of the store where the full support bras were kept.

"You." Dulci turned her head quickly toward Savannah, unsure how to process the information. Savannah wanted Dulci to wear a hideous costume when he got back into town.

"Absolutely not," Dulci shook her head rapidly at Savannah, backing away from the lingerie rack.

"What? Why?" Savannah huffed as she put her hands on her hips, wrinkling the costume in the process.

"I don't have enough time to tell you why," Dulci responded as she looked at a matching bra and underwear set. She noticed Savannah hadn't moved from her spot, and when she looked at Savannah, she was tapping her foot with an expectant look on her face.

"I'm not brave enough to wear a costume," Dulci said shyly, looking at another lacy piece of underwear as her cheeks got red.

"For someone who thinks outside the box, you sure are in the box on this one." Savannah put the costume lingerie back on the rack, moving toward the teddies.

"Seriously? You think after nine days of not seeing each other, I should wear a French maid get up?" Dulci pulled the offending piece of lingerie out, holding up to examine it fully with a horrified look on her face.

"Come on. All guys love that kind of thing. Don't you want to surprise him when he gets home?"

"Yeah, but I'm not comfortable roll playing or wearing costumes," she shuttered at the idea of being laughed at or rejected.

"I thought I'd just surprise him with dinner and then we'd have sex for a couple of hours," Dulci shrugged, thinking that would be a memorable reunion. She didn't need anything additional when they were together. She just wanted it to be him and her, without any costumes, toys, or distractions.

"I'd say that would work, but he already saw you waiting naked to surprise Henry. You need to do something that is unique to just you and him. Maybe you could be wearing this while making him dinner" Savannah recommended as she took the French maid outfit and put it in her basket. "And don't say no because I'm going to buy it and you're going to wear it. You'll thank me later," she said as she walked toward the toys.

"What if it backfires? What if he doesn't like it?" Dulci overthought, running her hands over the cheap fabric.

"It won't backfire! He'll love it. Trust me. I'm speaking from experience," Savannah reassured her, putting some berry flavored lubricant in her basket.

"Ben likes costumes, huh?" Dulci teased, laughing when Savannah nodded, wiggling her eyebrows.

Dulci pulled the French maid outfit out of Savannah's basket, looking at it closely. "I can't wear this. It looks too fake," Dulci shook her head.

"Jesus, Dulci," Savannah chided before she tried to snatch the lingerie from Dulci.

"If I'm going to wear something like this, I don't want it to be frilly and cheap. I'd rather it look realistic, but sexy at the same time," Dulci reasoned, hoping Savannah would understand.

"I have a better idea," Savannah lit up, pulling the costume from Dulci, heading back to the rack she found it.

It was rush hour by the time Dulci and Savannah parted ways at the mall, and as she tried to dull the irritation of being stuck in traffic by listening to her iPhone, she thought of different ways to wear the French maid outfit they'd agreed on. It was more realistic, something that didn't feel like a poorly made piece of fabric held together with cheap thread and glue. It looked like an actual maid outfit, but was hemmed very short at both the skirt and sleeves. The buttons started half way down Dulci's chest, so she would have to wear a nice bra underneath. She purchased a strappy garter belt to go underneath and opaque black thigh highs at Savannah's insistence. Should she put it on before he got there or after their dinner? She thought about cooking an elaborate spread in heels, imagining the disaster is could be. She was starting to consider taking it all back when her phone rang. Smiling at the caller ID, she answered.

"I'm sitting in the stairwell at the hotel. I had to call you," he explained, his voice full of disappointment.

"Is everything ok?" Dulci asked as she inched closer to her exit, contracting her back to stretch her sore muscles.

"Well, I need to go home to take care of some business in Nova Scotia for a couple of days. I wont be back until next weekend. I'm really sorry," he apologized, sounding just as disappointed as Dulci felt. Her face dropped, instantly wanting to cry, realizing that her big elaborate dinner date was now put on hold yet again.

"I hope everything is alright," Dulci said supportively, unsure what the nature of his trip home was about. She let her head fall back on the headrest, frustrated at the change in plans.

"I just need to tie up some lose ends with my endorsements and shoot some commercials. It was a last minute decision. I tried to postpone it but Pat was pretty insistent."

Dulci could hear the apology and exasperation in his voice. It was obvious that it was sprung on him at the last minute. She couldn't be angry with him, even if she did have a flamboyantly erotic outfit in the passenger seat, ready to surprise him.

"Its ok. You have things you need to take care of. I'll see you when you get back into the states," Dulci reassured him, trying to sound as encouraging and understanding as possible.

"I know. I was just really looking forward to spending some time alone with you. I miss you," he sighed.

"I miss you, too, and I'll be here waiting for you," she returned the sentiment, feeling lovesick for the first time in a very long time.

"I hate to cut this short, but the team is having dinner and I'm already late. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Of course you can call. I'm off for the next week, so I'll be home. Don't get into too much trouble in LA," Dulci said nervously, remembering some of the stories he'd told her about guys getting intoxicated, making out with anything with a pulse regardless of their relationship status at home. She wasn't particularly concerned with Sidney going astray, but Dulci knew that girls found him very attractive. She was worried about them.

"I can't get into trouble anywhere. I have this beautiful and intellectual girlfriend in Pittsburgh and I wouldn't do or let anything happen to jeopardize that. She's the only person I want to make out with."

"She sounds pretty amazing," Dulci feigned unfamiliarity, blushing at the compliment.

"Dulci, you have no idea."

"Go to dinner and have a fantastic time. I'll be counting the days until you come back," she admitted, hoping it didn't sound too dependent or clingy.

"I'll be on the first flight back once everything is finished."

The alarm came too soon. Dulci rolled over, slamming her hand on the box to turn it off. She went to be early the previous night, and having slept over twelve hours, she figured she'd get up early and do some deep cleaning around the house. She turned on her back, picking up her phone to check her email. She didn't hear it, but Sidney had called her last night and left a voicemail. She put the message on speakerphone, placing her hand on her mouth as she laughed at the obscure message from Marc.

"Dulci? Pick up the phone! Are you there, Dulci?" It was obvious that he was very drunk, slurring his heavily accented words, making it difficult for Dulci to understand them. She laughed harder when she heard Marc telling someone that he didn't think she was there. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that Sid is in love with you and he doesn't know I'm leaving this message because he's in the bathroom. He wouldn't even come out with us after dinner so he wouldn't fuck up. He want to marry you and have a bunch of American-Canadian babies with you..." Dulci stopped listening as the message continued for over a minute, feeling her heart rate accelerate at the thought of him actually loving her like she loved him. She was only brought out of her thoughts when she heard Marc making obnoxious kissing noises followed up a jostling sound before the message ended. She clutched the phone to her chest, closing her eyes, imagining what marriage a children would be like with him. He was so good with Estelle, so much so that Vero made in babysit in the past. Then she thought about what Vero told her at their dinner get together, that he'd be a great husband. The idea made Dulci smile.

As she was rolling out of bed, there was a knock at her door. For a moment, she felt butterflies in her stomach, knowing that it was right around the time that he would've been calling to tell her he was boarding the cross country flight home. Maybe his trip home was actually a ploy to surprise her. She walked briskly to the door, opening it enthusiastically, praying it was Sidney. She tried not to let her face fall too much in disappointment as she came face to face with someone other than Sidney. Instead, a well-dressed man stood in front of her, holding an envelope.

"Hi," Dulci said confused as she noticed a very extravagant town car behind him. "Can I help you?"

"Ms. Hammett, my name is David Schofield. I'm here to take you to the airport." She could only imagine how perplexed her face looked as she stared dumbly at the driver.

"Airport? I'm sorry, but I'm very confused." Dulci looked around the outside of her house, wondering if she was the object of someone's cruel joke.

"Mr. Crosby sent me to take you to the airport, ma'am," the driver said matter-of-factly.

"Wait. Sidney sent you to take me to the airport?" Dulci processed out loud. "Am I going to Canada?"

"No ma'am. You have an eleven o'clock flight to Manhattan for the conference," the driver read from a packet of paper that he'd stored under his arm for the duration of their conversation. He handed her the paperwork.

"This folder includes you round trip tickets, your hotel accommodations, your confirmation to the conference, and a complete list and schedule of lectures available."

Dulci took the folder hesitantly, opening it to find the contents exactly as the driver had listed them. She fingered through her first class ticket, her confirmation for a deluxe suite at the Waldorf Astoria, and an unlimited pass to any lecture she wanted to take at the conference. She thought it was a mirage, or that she was dreaming, because it couldn't be happening. She didn't think she was going to the conference. She hadn't packed or made arrangements for Meatball.

"Is this a joke?" Dulci spurted out, not wanting to get her hopes up.

"No ma'am," the driver shook his head, smiling at Dulci's state of complete shock.

"I, umm. I haven't packed or prepared for this. Give me fifteen minutes?" Dulci asked the driver, finally accepting that the conference was going to happen, smiling like a child on Christmas morning. She raced around her bedroom, pulling out piles of everything and throwing it into her suitcase. She was so excited that she figured anything that she forgot she could buy while she was in New York City. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and put her hair into a messy bun. She swiped everything off of her vanity into a large make up bag as Meatball watched on her bed, ready to pounce on some of the items that fell on the floor. Dulci grabbed her phone off of her bed and called the hospital, hoping there was room for Meatball to board there.

"Hey, its Dr. Hammett. Is there room to board Meatball for a week?" she asked as she quickly buttoned her flannel shirt and winter fest.

"The arrangements for a week of boarding have already been made, Dr. Hammett," the new receptionist told her.

"Thank you, Bridgitte," Dulci hung up the phone, impressed that Sidney seemed to think of everything. She put Meatball in her carrier, much to Meatball's dismay, and was out the door in a little over fifteen minutes.

After dropping Meatball off at the hospital, Dulci was on her way to the airport. She tried to call Sidney numerous times, only to get his voicemail. She remembered he was either flying back to Pittsburgh or to Canada. So instead of leaving a voicemail, knowing that the driver would hear her, she decided she'd wait until she was in the hotel.

Four hours later, her cab was putting up to the Waldorf Astoria, and she wasn't used to the valet service. The doormen opened her door and took her bags, escorting her to the reception area like she was royalty.

"Hello. My name is Dulci Hammett. I have a reservation," she greeted the receptionist, handing her the reservation confirmation.

"Thank you Ms. Hammett. Here is your room key," the young woman handed her the key card, looking at her computer system, "And it looks like your guest had already arrived."

"Guest?" Dulci asked, puzzled for the tenth time that day.

"Yes. Mr. Crosby arrived a couple of hours ago," the young lady smiled. "Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," Dulci said in astonishment before heading for the elevators bay. As the elevator slowly ascended, Dulci couldn't contain her excitement, and as the elevator opened, she practically sped walked down the hall, opening the door to find him pacing back and forth, talking to someone on the phone.

"Mom, she's here. I have to go," Sidney said as he saw Dulci, walking over to her before hanging up.

"Hi," he said as he pecked her lips, pulling her into a bear hug. Dulci embraced him like it she never wanted to let go, digging her fingers into his skin, inhaling his scent, feeling his warmth.

"How?" was the only word she could get out before the felt the overwhelming urge to cry out of sheer happiness. He felt her trembling against him, trying not to cry. He kissed her ear before explaining.

"You deserve this and I wanted to give it to you."

She closed her eyes, letting a tear fall as they continued their embrace, slowly swaying from side to side.

"Thank you," she said as she pulled away, looking at him with gratefulness. He wiped her tear away with his thumb before softly kissing her.

"I'm leaving early tomorrow to go to Pittsburgh, but I'm all yours for the afternoon and night."

"I thought you said you had to go to Canada to take care of business," she asked as she unzipped her vest.

"I had to throw you off somehow. I wanted this to be a surprise," he smiled as he laid down on the bed, motioning for her to join him as he stifled a yawn.

"I took the redeye from LA to get here before you. I didn't get any sleep," he explained as he rubbed his face.

"Take a nap," Dulci suggested as she kicked off her shoes.

"I wanted to spend the day with you," he yawned again.

"I'll look at the conference information and schedule my lectures while you sleep," she kissed him before retrieving the information from her luggage, returning to find him standing, pulling back the covers.

"Wake me up in two hours," he said as he situated himself on his side, facing her, watching her excitedly shuffle through the paperwork before he fell asleep.

Oh my God. I can't do this," Dulci panicked as she looked at herself in Sidney's fulllength mirror. it wasn't that the outfit looked bad, per say, but the idea of acting like anything other than herself was making her stomach tie itself into knots. Savannah told her that she was inspired by a slutty maid on some television show she watched, and while it was more of what Dulci could see herself wearing, it felt very foreign, and the opaque black thigh highs held up by garter clips and lace up pointed stiletto ankle boots wasn't helping the matter.

Dulci was just about to change out of the lingerie and surprise him wearing just a trench coat when she heard Sidney's garage door open. Her heart skipped multiple beats and her breath caught in her throat from the anticipation and raw nerves of seeing him. Part of her wanted to run to him while the other part wanted to crawl under his bed before he found her.

She cracked his bedroom door, listening to see where he was in the house. She stood at the top of the landing, but immediately ran back into his room when she heard an unfamiliar male and female voice. Panicking, she threw the trench coat around her, buttoning it and securing the belt. She gathered all of her things, not exactly sure what was going to happen. Who did he bring to his home when he knew she'd be there waiting for him? Just as she finished shoving her things into her weekend bag, Sidney's door opened slowly.

"Hey," he hugged her from behind, kissing her ear before walking into his closet.

"I know we were supposed to be alone this afternoon, but Mario and Natalie invited us to their house for lunch. They want to meet you," he shouted from the other side of the large closet before emerging to find Dulci standing rigid in front of his bed, looking nervous. Her expression made him slow down.

"Is everything ok?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," she nodded quickly, trying to hide the massive amount of make up on her face. It was another one of Savannah's ideas.

"You look nice." Sidney gently pushed her hair out of her face, pulling her closer by unfolding her arms. He looked her up and down, trying to figure out why she was wearing heels.

"Do we have plans that I don't know about?" He asked, scratching his head in an attempt to remember. Dulci just shook her head, tucking hair behind her ear, waiting for sidney to leave so she could change before he saw the lingerie.

"We do now," he said with a smile as he pulled her out of his room, walking quickly down the stairs toward the kitchen. Before Dulci knew it, she was being introduced to Mario, the owner of the wine shop as Sid liked to joke, and Natalie, his ball and chain. Natalie took Dulci by surprise with the double cheek kissing, not sure if she should reciprocate, but Natalie instantly took the awkwardness away by complimenting Dulci's shoes.

"They're kind of witchy and couture all in the same breath. I love Christian Loboutin shoes," Natalie smiled.

"I borrowed them from a friend. I could never afford them," Dulci lied with a nervous laugh, not ready to admit to how much money she spent on them. She was also hoping no one would notice she was wearing outerwear inside.

"Are we ready?" Mario asked everyone. Sid looked at Dulci with an expectant look extending his hand. She knew her chance to change had passed, so she took a deep breath, took his hand, and left to go to lunch.

Sid and Dulci had been at Mario's for over an hour and she was sweating. She kept her trench coat on, making excuses as to why she couldn't take it off throughout the elaborate lunch spread. She was helping Natalie clean the kitchen when sidney pulled Dulci away, taking her toward his old wing of the house. He showed her old pictures, memorabilia, where he slept, where he slept with the Stanley cup. Dulci wasn't listening, and he could tell.

"Ok. What's going on? You've been scattered and weird all day. Are you sure you're ok?" His concerned look made Dulci feel terrible. Had her French maid secret really been that obvious?

"I'm fine. I'll explain at your house. I'm just a little warm," she reassured him, giving him a meek smile. She tried to discreetly wiped the small sweat bead off of her forehead, but sidney noticed.

"Dulci, if you're hot, why don't you take the coat off."

"I can't," she said before she could stop herself.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"It wouldn't be appropriate," she muttered, staring at the pointed toes of her heels.

"Appropriate? Dulci, I'm not following," sidney told her as he sat down on his bed, completely dumbfounded by Dulci's vagueness.

"Look at me," Dulci insisted softy. "I can't take it off," she said slowly, her eyes begging him to understand that she was inappropriate underneath. She closed her eyes and sighed when he just stared dumbly at her, not taking any hints.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said as she untied the coat, quickly unbuttoning it before opening the coat to him.

"Holy fuck," was all sidney could get out, slowly rising to walk toward her. Dulci closed the coat before he got to her, feeling overwhelmingly embarrassed, stuttering as explained herself.

"It was Savannah's idea. I told her I didn't do costumes but she insisted. It's ridiculous, I know..."

He interrupted her rant with a searing kiss, pushing her backward into the dresser, careless to the items that were knocked over by the collision. He pried the coat open, pushing it off of her shoulders as the vigorously kissed, moaning into one another.

He loved the outfit. He loved the way the black thigh highs clashed against her white skin, the way the skirt was short enough to almost show what was underneath, the way the top button was undone to show cleavage. It all turned him on, and the fact that she tried to surprise him with it at his house, made it even better.

"We've got to leave before I ravage you right here," he said as he took her earlobe between his teeth, gently grinding his erection against her. He smiled triumphantly when all she said in return was, "uh huh," panting with closed eyes.

"Come on," he grabbed her hand, heading back toward the great room for formal good byes.

"We have to go. Dulci has to go to work soon," sidney announced to the lemieuxs. Dulci quickly turned her head toward him, realizing she forgot to tell him she didn't have to work that night.

"It was great meeting you, Dulci," Mario pulled her into a small hug before shaking hands with Sid. Dulci smiled in return, longing for Sidney's house.


	27. Chapter 27

"What an upset," Sidney said aloud, referring to the Carolina/Boston game. Boston was down by four in the third period. He was reclined on his couch, legs crossed on the coffee table like an ottoman. He was nursing a beer while eating a bowl of popcorn.

"No shit," Marc added with equal disbelief. He instantly covered his mouth, realizing that Estelle was playing with some of her toys on the rug within earshot. Sidney laughed at Marc, knowing Vero would strangle him for his terrible language around their daughter. Estelle was at the age where anything she heard would be replicated like a parrot. While he laughed in that moment, Sidney knew his time for foul language at home was limited as well.

"Just wait, man. You wont be able to say anything anymore," Marc exhaled as he fell back onto the couch cushion. "They repeat everything."

"I'll just save it for the rink," Sidney watched Estelle play with her toys, talking quietly to herself in her own little world. She was having a conversation with her toys, speaking a combination between English, French, and gibberish, occasionally raising her voice in excitement, making the dogs lift their ears while they laid on their beds.

In that very moment, a muffled clicking sound started to come over the monitor, and Sidney muted the television to listen. It was a noise he'd heard before. It was coming from the most adorable and endearing action that Sidney had immediately learned to love; it was thumb sucking.

"Estelle will never get over this. You broke her heart with Dulci, and now she'll have to compete for your affections with Tucker." Marc slapped Sidney on the back before getting up to get another bottle of water and bag of chips.

Sidney observed Estelle as she played with her toys, imagining what the future with Tucker would hold. He remembered playing with cars and action figures as a small child, but more importantly, he remembered the moment he wanted to play hockey. He couldn't wait for the day that he could teach Tucker how to skate, hold a stick, shoot the puck. They'd play for hours in the cold, only to eventually come in and warm up with a cup of hot cocoa that Dulci prepared. Sidney was so consumed in his musings that he didn't notice Sam and Noodle had perked up, thumping their tails onto their beds. Noodle was the first to get up and run to the door, followed by a more arthritic Sam as the front door opened.

"Estelle, mama is here," Marc sang from the kitchen, causing Estelle to drop her toys and run to the front door, only to be knocked over by Noodle's wagging tail, laughing when Sam nudged and licked her face.

"Hello, children!" Dulci cooed excitedly as she knelt down to greet her dogs, kissing both before she noticed Estelle getting swept continuously across the face by Noodle's fluffy tail.

"Hello Ms. Estelle, lets go find your daddy," Dulci said as she picked Estelle up and walked her hand in hand to the kitchen.

"Where's Vero?" Marc asked with concern as he looked around Dulci toward the front door, wondering why his wife didn't come in. Dulci quickly walked into the living room to pack up Estelle's toys, greeting Sidney with a quick kiss on her way.

"She's asleep in the car. She got sick at the restaurant and fell asleep on the way home. I didn't want to wake her," Dulci explained as she handed the traveling bag off, giving Marc a sympathetic smile.

She walked Marc and Estelle to the car, helping put Estelle in her seat as Marc woke Vero up to check on her.

"She's been complaining that she's nauseous and groggy for a couple of days. I hope she doesn't have the stomach flu," Marc shut her door and walked with Dulci to the driver's side door.

"I don't think it's the flu," Dulci said with a raised eyebrow and devious smile.

"No…" Marc shook his head, choking out a small laugh. "You have baby fever," he pointed at her before pulling her into a hug.

"Just saying," Dulci patted his back. "Call me when it's positive," she jabbed as she headed back toward her front door.

"I'll be sure to call you. You can Sid can babysit," he shouted out the window before backing out and driving away.

As she shut the front door, Dulci recalled the first time she and Sidney babysat Estelle. Her bottom lip would pucker and her chin would quiver every time she looked at Dulci. She watched as Sidney entertained her for hours, coloring, painting, watching cartoons, playing house, and napping. Dulci smiled at the thought of Sidney and Estelle asleep on the couch with the credits of some children's movie rolling in the background. She knew she'd see that again very soon, only this time it wouldn't be Estelle. She walked to the backdoor, letting Sam and Noodle outside. As she was walking toward the kitchen to get something to drink, Sidney hooked his arm around the waist, pulling her onto his lap.

"I can't believe I let you out in that," Sidney said as he looked her up and down, specifically at the slightly see through black shirt and black mid-length leather skirt. He kissed her, entwining his fingers with hers, bringing it to his chest as the kiss grew with desire, only to be interrupted by the sound of commotion coming from the monitor.

"I missed my guys," Dulci told Sidney as she wiped her lip gloss off of his lips with her finger, melting into him as he gently took hold on her wrist, kissing each and every fingertip.

"We missed you," Sidney returned as he turned the television off. "I've got to say, I'm really surprised you didn't call more for your first night without him,"

"That's because I knew your were more than capable of taking care of him on your own," Dulci yawned as she snuggled into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "How'd he do?" Dulci questioned, kissing his cheek before giving him her full attention.

"He was fine. I had him down here while Marc and I watched the game. He got a little fussy so I took him into the nursery to feed him and put him down," he recounted like he did in pre and postgame interviews, subtly biting his lip between thoughts. There was nothing in the world that made Dulci more turned on than seeing Sidney with their son, the way he gently held him, burped him, fed him, rocked him, changed him. He was very hands-on without any reservation, and she couldn't have asked for more. She wanted him right then and there, on their living room couch, away from the nursery where moans and cries were less likely to wake the baby. She got up and faced him, resituating herself to straddle him, giving him an uninhibited kiss as he slowly pushed her skirt higher to rest on her hips, squeezing her ass as she subtly rocked against him. As she threw her head back in ecstasy, Sidney moved down her chin and neck, gently nipping at her skin as he traveled toward her breasts, caressing them with his hands. He could tell she was uncomfortably full as she pulled back, needing to "pump and dump," as she termed it. She bit her lip uncomfortably, looking away from him with embarrassment.

"Sorry… I just don't want _that_ to happen again." He knew exactly what she was talking about. She was on top, meeting him thrust for thrust as she rubbed her clit. He was holding her breasts, switching between squeezing and stimulating her nipples, something he knew she couldn't get enough of. He knew she was very close, so he cupped them again, putting pressure on her nipples between his pointer and middle finger as he squeezed them. At the same time, she letdown all over his hands and arms, something that neither of them knew could happen. While she was mortified, Sidney didn't care. He just wanted to give her an orgasm, something that hadn't physically happened since Tucker was born, but it wasn't without trying.

He slid his hand around her back and pulled her back to him, kissing her worries away as she relaxed into him again. He was just about to flip her on her back to go down on her, the one way he knew he could get her to climax when Noodle's scratching on the backdoor interrupted them before running off.

"Let's go to bed," he slapped Dulci's butt playfully.

"Will you let the dogs in? I'm going to go say goodnight," Dulci asked as she walked toward the stairs.

"Inside," Sidney yelled after whistling, listening as the faint jingling of collar tags got closer. Both Noodle and Sam ran inside the house and into their perspective beds as Sidney locked the back door, turning off lights as he heading toward the staircase to finish what he started.

He paused as he passed the coffee table, slowly reaching for the monitor as he heard Dulci singing quietly in Tucker's bedroom. It was a song that he vaguely knew, probably something he heard in a TV show a long time ago.

He slowly climbed the stairs as she sang, taking the monitor as he went.

"My funny valentine. Sweet comic valentine. You make me smile with my heart. Your looks are laughable. Unphotographable. Yet you're my favorite work of art. But don't change a hair for me. Not if you care for me.

Stay little valentine stay. Each day is Valentines Day."

He's never heard Dulci sing until Tucker was born, and she only sang when she thought no one was listening. Sidney wished she'd sing more often. She had a soft voice and wasn't tone deaf like him. He listened as she sang the short song again, undressing down to his boxers before lying down. He put the monitor on his night stand, smiling as he remembered one of the many nights they woke up to Tucker crying. Dulci insisted she got up because Sidney had a game that evening while Sidney argued that he should go because she had a stressful adrenal gland tumor removal the following morning. The difference was that he could nap during the day while Dulci couldn't, not to mention that lives were in her hands.

"Vero's pregnant," Dulci said as she entered the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Oh yeah?" Sidney watched as Dulci undressed in the walk in closet, taking her shirt off to reveal her cupped breasts spilling over her black satin bra.

"Yeah. She doesn't know it yet, but she is." Dulci slipped her shoes off one at a time, and as she was in the process of unzipping her skirt, Sidney whipped her around and pushed her into the dresser, lifting her to sit on the top as he kissed her deeply and fully, making her moan out of surprise.

"Is he asleep?" he said breathily resting his forehead against hers.

"Yes." Dulci exhaled as she pulled him back to her, kissing him intensely.

"Good, because I'm going to fuck you until you come, and I don't care about what happened last time," he said as he caressed her breast, causing her to moan into his mouth as he carried her to the bed, laying her down as he took her in. Her hips were slightly wider and she had a small pooch on her stomach, but he didn't mind it. He actually enjoyed the physically changes that came with pregnancy. He laid down on top of her, kissing her erotically as she pulled his shirt off, placing it next to them as he undid her bra, throwing it across the room as he kissed down her jaw and neck. Her breath hitched as he took one of his nipples into his mouth, trying hard not to stimulate her too much. He slowly traveled down her stomach, planting kisses all over her stomach as he slipped her skirt and underwear off of her body. He spread her legs before slowly and ever so lightly took her clitoris between his lips to suck, releasing it with a smack as he heard her let out a long and low moan, throwing her head back onto the mattress. He went to repeat the action when a loud sound started to come over the monitor, causing them both the jump. It sounded like the alarm from the guest bedroom.

He opened his eyes, sitting up quickly to gauge his surroundings before turning his phone alarm off, not realizing it was a reminder notification. He turned over to find Dulci sleeping in a pile of conference papers, drooling on her pillow. He slowly reclined next to her, resting his head in his hand as he brushed hair off of her face. He gazed at the woman in front of him, the same woman he just dreamt about in the most realistic and intimate of ways. He wasn't a dreamer in the sense that he remembered his dreams, but the fact that he remembered that particular dream made him want it even more, like it was some kind of foresight into what he and Dulci would become. He leaned in closer, giving her a light Eskimo kiss, causing her to stir.

"Was I snoring?" she asked groggily, wiping her eyes.

"Just drooling." He smiled, giving her a kiss before pulling her to lie on top of him. He woke up with a raging erection and wanted nothing more than to exhaust it.

"Wow… we really slept the day away," Dulci commented as she caught sight of her watch, the first time she opened her eyes since the mild foreplay started.

"What time is it?" he asked between kisses to kisses to her neck.

"Its almost seven," she said as she sat up to straddle him, unbuttoning her shirt as he caressed her thighs. She stopped immediately when she saw Sidney's panicky look.

"Shit." He sat up, gently pushed her off of him as he looked at his phone. They missed the first part of his plans for their evening.

"What's wrong?" Dulci asked as she sat up, buttoning her shirt, startled by his sudden change in behavior.

"I made dinner reservations at six. We missed it," he huffed, combing his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Well, I'm not sure if you're up for it, but I know a fantastic pizza place around the corner," she offered with a shrug, unsure if he'd go for unhealthy food during the rigorous season. When he didn't respond immediately, Dulci nervously continued. "If you're up for it, that is. We could go somewhere else. I know you have to abide by a regimented diet right now, but since I effed up your dinner reservation, I thought I'd throw out some options…" she said in one breath, only inhaling when he smiled at her. He couldn't believe how lucky he was so have a girlfriend that was so accommodating, not at all upset that his attempt at a romantic dinner on the town was off the table because of their long nap. She's never questioned or nagged him about anything he'd done or hadn't done. His attempt at planning was usually interrupted by something in his professional life, and she never complained.

"How did you fuck up my dinner plans?" he pulled her down next to him.

"You asked me to wake you up in two hours and I fell asleep."

"Pizza sounds good. How long are they open?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe three or four AM? Nothing closes around here."

"Good," he smiled as he rolled on top of her. "Because there's something I've wanted to do since you walked through that door this morning," he said as he started unbuttoning her shirt.

Three hours later, they finally made it to the small restaurant, sharing a large supreme pizza with a pitcher of beer after working up a huge appetite in the hotel room. Sidney watched in awe at how euphoric the evening seemed and he couldn't decide if Dulci's afterglow was because of multiple orgasms or the spontaneity of their impromptu change of plans. She was laughing hysterically at something he said, something he didn't even realize was funny. Laughing with her, he chalked it up to being the amount of cheap beer she drank. She wasn't drunk, but she was definitely on her way.

"Don't you feel like you traveled through time to get here?" Dulci looked around the restaurant, moving her head subtly to the selection of 40s and 50s music playing.

"Yeah." He had noticed the decorations as they walked in. It looked like an old dinner. The wait staff wore uniforms from the period with paper caps and red bowties. As he continued to look around the room, his phone started to ring for the fourth time that evening.

"I'm sorry. Do you mind if I step outside to take this?" he asked politely, taking a sip of beer as he scooted out of the booth.

"Not at all," she waved him off, smiling as she finished her slice of pizza.

He stepped outside into the chilly Manhattan air as he took the call.

"Hello?" he answered zipping up his collared sweatshirt to keep out the chill.

"Why, hello there." It was Carly.

Sidney closed his eyes, admonishing himself for not checking his caller ID prior to taking the call. He knew better, but he figured it was someone important considering the frequency of the calls.

"Carly, this isn't a good time," he started, only to get interrupted by his ex-girlfriend.

"Don't hang up! I know you're spending the night in New York with Dulci. My call is about her."

"What about Dulci?" he asked, worried about the concern in Carly's voice.

"I'm sure you're aware that her birthday is around the corner. I'm throwing a surprise birthday party for her and I was wondering if you would consider helping me plan it?"

"Yeah, sure. I'd love to help if I have time." He loved to surprise Dulci, something that he never thought to do in previous relationships. It was the way her face lit up when she wasn't expecting him that kept him wanting to do it over and over. He knew that he loved Dulci, wanting to give her anything and everything she wanted. It was the same reason he bought her unlimited access to the veterinary conference and a room at the Waldorf Astoria. The only crutch in the plan is that he wasn't sure if he physically could help Carly. It all depended on his schedule.

"You'll make time, for _her_," Carly scolded. "This is your downfall, Sid. You don't ever consider your girlfriends. And before you get onto your soapbox, I'm well aware that you're a big deal and have a lot riding on your shoulders. It's always about you and your game schedule. You're lucky she doesn't mind because of her own schedule. She makes sacrifices to be with you, so you'd better make sacrifices for her."

Sidney looked into the window of the restaurant, watching as Dulci finished her glass of beer, smiling as she sang along to whatever song was playing on the speakers.

"Do you love her?" Carly's probing took Sidney by surprise. He knew he loved her, but felt uncomfortable talking to his ex-girlfriend about his feelings for his new girlfriend. He remembered his dream, the preview of his married life with her, something he knew he wanted to see more of.

"Answer me," Carly demanded in a quiet, yet menacing tone.

"Yes, I love her," he confirmed as he watched Dulci through the window. She caught eyes with him, waving with a sweet and cheerful smile. She mouthed to him if he was ok, concern arising on her face for a quick moment until he shook his head, smiling as he put two fingers against his temple, mimicking a gun.

"Good. Because she's in love with you."

The idea that Dulci loved him as much as he loved her made him tingle with excitement, smiling at the thought of her actually telling him. While his valiant attempt at a romantic even fell through, Dulci's idea was turning out to be more than he'd ever imagined. He wanted to spend all of his free time with Dulci.

"Carly, I'll call you later. I want to spend time with my girlfriend. Goodnight," he said, hanging up before Carly had a chance to respond.

He walked into the restaurant and sat down across from Dulci. He noticed the pizza was boxed and Dulci was putting on her vest and scarf.

"Sorry about that. Let me get the check and then we'll go back to the room," Sidney told her as he waved down the waiter.

"I already paid," Dulci told him as she scooted out of the booth, gripping the table for support, snickering at the feeling of being mildly intoxicated.

"I'm supposed to pay." He took her hand and the pizza, exiting the restaurant as he placed her hand around his waist, putting his hand around her shoulder to guide her.

"I'm not sure if you're aware, Mr. Crosby, but it's the twenty first century and women can pay on dates," she said matter-of-factly, trying not to slur her words.

"Besides, I owe you a lot of money," Dulci sighed as she snuggled up to him for warmth.

"You owe me nothing," he told her, kissing her forehead.

"Did you honestly think I was going to allow you to pay for all of this?" Dulci asked as she gestured at their surroundings.

"I wouldn't have done any of it if I didn't want to. I told you that you deserved it."

They walked in silence for a while, just enjoying the company of one another. As they were waiting at a crosswalk, Sidney noticed Dulci humming absentmindedly, and without notice, she started singing out loud.

"Stars shining bright above you. Night breezes seem to whisper I love you. Birds singing in the sycamore tree. Dream a little dream of me."

The beginning of the song started as an octave above a whisper, but as she continued to sing, the volume got louder to the point where bystanders were looking at them. He tried to playfully cover her mouth, but she pushed his hand away, singing louder as she faced him.

"Say nighty-night and kiss me." Sidney kissed her in an attempt to distract her from the song, but also because he thought she was being incredibly cute regardless of his mild embarrassment.

"Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me. While I'm alone, blue as can be. Dream a little dream of me."

"Dulci," he chuckled, trying to get her attention, covering her mouth as she belted the lyrics to a song he barely knew but instantly liked.

"Stars fading but I linger on, dear. Still craving your kiss," she pulled him down to her by his sweatshirt, kissing him while she continued to hum the rest of the chorus into his mouth.

"I want you," she whispered to him as they continued to walk into the hotel, fighting to keep their hands off of each other until they got into the elevator.

Once the elevator doors closed, Sidney pushed her against the wall, giving her an uninhibited kiss as the elevator climbed toward their destination. When the doors opened, he pulled her quickly in the direction of their room to the point where she was jogging to keep up. Once he pushed the door open, he picked her up and threw her onto the bed, wanting to rip her clothes off to get to her flesh. As he pulled his belt, setting up to toss it toward his suitcase, Dulci stopped him, grabbing his wrist, looking at him with dark, erotic eyes.

"Wait," she insisted, taking the belt out of his hands, softly running her fingers over the leather, biting her lip before she looked at him. She stood from the bed, getting as close to him as possible as she placed the leather belt back into his hand. She craned her head up to his ear as if telling him a secret. After she finished whispering, she seductively undressed in front of him. Once she was naked, she started to turn around.

"Dulci, I've.." he started to tell her openly.

She leaned back to him, telling him what to do before turning around, leaning over the bed. Sidney gulped, unwilling to forfeit or admit he was nervous. What she wanted was uncharted territory for him, but he'd do it.


	28. Chapter 28

"Bind my wrists."

There were no other sounds, just the sultry whispered words that resonated in his ears along with his own heartbeat. The way she was presenting herself made him wanted nothing more than to use that belt and fuck her three ways from Sunday, making her scream so loud that the neighbors knew his name. But something was holding him back. Inexperience. He stood behind her, fidgeting with the belt, trying to figure out how he would do this. What if he tied it too tight? What if she didn't like it? When does he untie her? What about safe words? Would she need a safe word? Could he actually hurt her? What if he was terrible at it? He was so consumed with his thoughts as he stared at the belt that he didn't see her turn to face him.

Dulci wanted him to dominate her, have his absolute way with her, let him have all of her in every way. She knew he wasn't exactly sure what to do, but she wanted to show him. When she turned around, she saw how nervous he was, chewing on his bottom lip, staring anxiously at the leather belt draped across his hands. She kissed him, gently brushing the belt out of his hands, letting it hit the floor with a thud. She wanted that with Sidney, but she wanted him the way he was the most comfortable, the way he touched her, the way he made her breath catch as he took his time with her, the way he seemed to penetrate her with his entire body, holding her as her body was racked with the most overwhelming orgasms, and the way he looked at her, like she was the only thing in his world that mattered. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she walked them backwards, slowly lowering him on top of her, never coming up for air.

Sidney leaned up on his elbows, rearranging himself off center between her legs as he looked down at her, eyes oozing with arousal. He took both of her hands and pinned them above her head with his hand. He watched her close her eyes as he slowly traced his fingers down her body, watching her nipple harden as he lightly dragged his fingers over it. He lowered his head, wrapping his lips around it as he lightly grazed his hand lower. He smiled, nipple between his teeth as he felt her involuntarily twitch under his touch, goose bumps breaking out all over her skin. She instantly tried to shut her legs around him when he finally touched her clit, moaning into his shoulder. He took the opportunity to look down, finding it to be very wet, glistening with stimulation, and he wanted nothing more than to taste it. Letting go of her wrists, he lowered himself off the bed, pulling her right onto his face.

"Sid," she whispered toward the ceiling as he feasted on her, running her hands through his hair until he did something that took her off guard. He pulled her hands off of his head and held them taut against her sides, once again eliminating the chance her to touch him. He smiled triumphantly against her as she dug her nails into his hands, closing her legs tightly around his head, telling him he'll make her come as he used his tongue to fuck her, pulling her by the arms to meet his face. He flicked his tongue against her clit before he stood up, leaving her spread against the bed, wondering why he stopped.

"Flip over and give me your hands." He picked the belt up off the floor. He could hear the breath catch in Dulci's throat as she slowly turned on her stomach, not expecting the change in pace. He took both of her wrists and tied them with the belt before flipping her back over and pulling her almost off the bed. He lifted her bottom half so she was almost vertically upside down, her neck and shoulders the only thing on the bed, fully exposing her to him as he slowly licked her opening. He stuck his tongue in as far as it would go, feeling her clench around it as he held her legs apart. While he was apprehensive at first, he wished he had something to hold her legs open so he could take full advantage with his hands. If she didn't have something at her house, he would buy it. As he maneuvered his hand close enough to touch her clit, he felt her trying to unzip his pants. He unzipped them, pulling his penis out for her to touch. The sensation almost knocked him over as she jerked him off from her upside down position.

"Spit on my hands," she gasped half way through a breathy inhale as he pinched her clit. He lifted her further, spitting in the general direction of her hands, groaning as she started to jerk him off again. He continued to fuck her with his tongue, willing himself not to come as she expertly pleasured him. He couldn't look at her, the way the sweat forming on her forehead, chest, and stomach, the way her breasts framed her face, but the sexiest thing she did was put her mouth on them, sometimes licking, sometimes biting, and it was driving him wild. When she clenched her hands around his penis, he knew she was going to come, especially the way she was stomach breathing, legs stretching and trembling as he rubbed her clit faster.

"OoohhhI'mcoming," she cried into her own shoulder, involuntarily pushing against him. He continued to touch her clit, watching it happen from his intimate position, giving her clit a kiss before he lowered her back onto the bed, flipping her over and hitching her at the waist, backing her off the bed until her knees were almost off of the edge. Quickly undressing, he slowly pushed into her, all the way in to the point where he was moving her and the duvet across the mattress. He instinctively held onto her hips, but as he looked at the brown belt between her wrists, he decided to use it as a handle, repeating the action again, pushing so far in that he lifted her upper body with her bound arms.

"Ohmygoddothatagain," she moaned loudly as he cursed under his breath. He knew he wouldn't last long. She felt too good, and the obscenities that were coming out of her mouth made it hard for him to think straight.

"Fuck me," she demanded as she looked over her shoulder at him, being met with the hard slam of his hand against her ass as he doubled his pace, holding her down with his hand on her upper back. He hoped the headboard hitting the wall wasn't as loud on the other side of the wall as it was in their room. He slowed down to his original pace, pulling her by her belted wrists slightly as he used his other hand to squeeze her ass. He wanted to watch her face the second time she came, he wanted to see the immense amount of pleasure that he gave her, the way she always had her mouth in the O shape, bunched forehead as she moaned without reservation. He scooped her up and flipped them both so he was on the bottom, wanting to get the full display as he turned her to face him. He sat up, kissing her fully before leaning her back to take her nipples into his mouth, nipping them gently before lying back down. He thought she would just ride him given the position, but she got up on her feet, squatting onto him, bouncing up and down as he held her ankles.

"Fuck, Dulci," he groaned, never breaking eye contact with her. He knew he was hitting the right spot when she started to shutter on him, face and chest flushing a deep red as she gave him the face he'd wanted to see again, and again, and again. He never wanted to see anyone else's orgasm face except hers. Knowing her legs were probably fatigued from the work, he held her knees and started thrusting into her.

"Come for me," he grunted through clenched teeth between thrusts, doing anything he could to push off his impending orgasm. She couldn't form words, only movements, nodding her head to tell him she was coming, releasing all over him after he smacked her ass hard, throwing her head back in the most saturating orgasm she'd ever experienced. Sidney pulled her down on top of him, holding her as he thrusted to completion, groaning out loud as she kissed and sucked his neck, eventually finding her way to his mouth as they shared a steamy, satisfied kiss. He delicately removed the belt, tossing it across the room as he brought her on her side next to him, massaging her wrists as they continued to share their intimate kiss.

Sidney looked down at Dulci, brushing damp hair out of her face as she stifled a yawn, huddled against him. She had one eye opened as they looked at each other like a child desperately trying to stay awake.

"Go to sleep," he chuckled as he kissed her cheek, reaching down to pull the duvet over them.

"I can't sleep," she yawned again, covering her mouth until his mouth replaced her hand.

"I think your body is telling you otherwise." He pulled her on top of him, rubbing her back as he settled in to go to sleep.

"The sooner I go to sleep, the sooner morning arrives and I don't want you to leave," she sighed, snuggling her face into his warm chest.

"I don't want to leave, either," he squeezed her.

"Then don't. Call in sick," she mumbled, twitching slightly as sleep started to take over.

"It doesn't work quite like that."

"I know," she nodded her head.

"You could always quit your job and travel with me," he joked, wanting to see how she'd respond. He'd never ask her to do it because she was dedicated and passionate about what she did. It was the entire reason he paid for her to go to the conference.

"Uh huh," she murmured as her breathing became slower and steadier.

"We could spend summers in Canada. You'd love it there." He kissed the crown of her head before shutting his eyes.

"I love you." It was almost inaudible, but he made it out, smiling as he returned the sentiment, entwining his fingers with her limp ones as he let the idea of him and Dulci in the future bring him to sleep.

"Good morning and welcome back. Today we will be practicing the techniques for essential orthopedic surgeries in small animals discussed in yesterday's lecture."

It has been five days since the conference started. Dulci filled her days with lectures and practical applications. She was so absorbed in the classes and lectures that she barely gave herself enough time to talk to anyone outside of the conference. The experience reminded her of her vet school years, soaking up as much information as possible, sacrificing a social life in order to be among the best of the profession. Dr. Anderson, the lecturer, was one of her surgical rotation professors at Virginia Tech, a man she always looked up to because of his experience and advances in the field. She wanted to be him until she got into general practice. She was in the process of practicing a new positional technique for removing femoral heads when she felt a presence behind her.

"Dulci? I didn't expect to see you here."

Dulci closed her eyes, recognizing the voice as Megan King's, the doctor that replaced her. When she turned to politely greet Megan, she didn't expect to see her flushed and surprised as if she was caught red-handed.

"I wasn't expecting to be here, either, but my boyfriend was gracious enough to loan me the money to pay for myself," she smiled coldly before focusing on the cadaver.

"Do you mind if I watch? I've always been impressed with your surgical skills." The kindness in Megan's voice made Dulci feel bad, as if she'd been too harsh in the part. Maybe Megan just needed guidance. Maybe Dr. Harrison was right.

"Absolutely. If you'd like, you can watch and do the other leg?" Dulci offered as she reached into the joint, feeling for the abnormality in the femoral head before cutting it off.

"That would be great," Megan smiled, putting on a surgical gown and gloves, watching in silence as Dulci worked.

"You wanted to become board certified, didn't you?"

"I did for a while," Dulci said absentmindedly as she concentrated, almost jumping out of her skin as a hand landed on her shoulder.

"And she still can. In all the years I've been teaching, Dulci here was my best student," Dr. Anderson smiled at both Dulci and Megan.

"And you were my favorite professor," Dulci chimed as she removed the femoral head, dropping it in the surgical pan.

"Have you taken certification into consideration? I know of at least a dozen surgical internships that would be lucky to have you."

"I've been considering it more, but it would mean relocation," Dulci explained, feeling somber with the idea of leaving Pittsburgh. If she were single, she'd do it, but the thought of leaving Sidney made her stomach drop.

"Get in touch with me if you ever change your mind," Dr. Anderson finished, politely excusing himself.

Dulci finished her sutures in silence, thinking about whether or not a long distance relationship was an option. Would Sidney be willing to try if she moved across the country? They hadn't been together that long and they never discussed their level of commitment. She pushed the neuroses down, handing the surgical instruments to Megan.

"Your turn."

"I, umm. I'm actually gonna get going. I forgot.. I actually have a lecture soon, so… Thanks for letting me watch," Megan said quickly as she left in a hurry. Dulci watched her run out of the suite, wondering where she was going. She knew there were no other lectures because it was the last day of the conference. Bewildered, she started practicing her bone graft harvesting.

"I wanted to bring this to your attention in case you were interested in taking on that internship," Dr. Anderson placed a list of schools and specialty hospitals on Dulci's surgical table before he walked away. She looked at it blankly, deciding she'd think about it more on the plane ride home later that evening.

Hours later and drunk on surgery, Dulci exchanged her pass for the conference package, tapping her toe anxiously because she was running late and her plane was scheduled to leave in three hours. She still needed to get back to the hotel, pack, then catch a cab to JFK. On the way out of the convention center, she saw Megan and a familiar looking man waiting for an elevator. She watched as the man put his arm around her shoulder, pushing hair behind her ear before kissing her. Megan was married, and that was not her husband, and when the man turned to greet someone, Dulci almost choked on her coffee. It was Dr. Harrison. Dulci smiled at the receptionist, grabbed her conference perks, and walked quickly out of the building, almost throwing herself in front of a cab to stop it.

"Waldorf Astoria, please."

It all made sense. Dulci was booted because Harrison was sleeping with Megan and they could be together in New York without their respective spouses knowing. It was information she didn't want to know.

As the cab pulled into the valet, Dulci quickly paid, speed walking into the hotel, wanting to get into her room immediately. As she walked to the elevator bay, her cellphone rang.

"How was it?"

"It was fantastic. I'll never be able to thank you enough," Dulci told Sidney as she entered the elevator.

"And, I figured out why Harrison booted me from going to the conference. I should've guessed it the way he's been fucking with the schedule. He's sleeping with Megan King," Dulci told him with exasperation, finally slowing down as she walked to her hotel room, struggling with the keycard.

"Why won't my key work?" she mumbled to herself as she pulled the keycard in and out of the slit with no response, juggling her bags and phone in the other hand. As she pushed the card in for the third time, the door opened, scaring Dulci to the point where she dropped her phone and bags, fearing that she was disturbing another hotel patron. She looked at him, trying to process what was happening. She thought she was going through a moment of déjà vu until he pulled her into the room, picking up her bags and phone.

"How are you here?" Dulci questioned as she slowly sat on the bed, lack of sleep and mental exhaustion finally catching up.

"I wanted to take you home," Sidney sat next to her, kissing her hand through the giant crooked smile on his face.

"Shit, I forgot about the flight," Dulci jumped up and scrambled around the room, throwing different items in the direction of her suitcase.

"Dulci?" Sidney followed behind, trying to get her attention.

"Would you get my things out of the bathroom for me?"

"Dulci?"

"Where did I put my boarding pass?" Dulci flipped through her folder completely oblivious of Sidney until he snatched it out of her hand, pulling her up to face him.

"I got rid of it," he told her quietly, finally getting her full attention.

"Come home with me."

"I will, but our plane leaves in two hours and I'm passless," Dulci said confused as she looked at her watch.

"Dulci, come home with me," he repeated. She was thoroughly confused until she realized he was wearing his Team Canada hat.

"To Canada? But I thought you had games?"

"We have a four day break and I want you to meet my family," he whispered as he kissed her cheek, pulling her into a hug.

"I didn't think to bring my passport," she said disappointedly, nuzzling into his neck, inhaling his cologne, afraid that he'd leave without her and they'd go another four days without seeing one another.

"Pff. When you're with Sidney Crosby, you don't need a passport," he scoffed playfully, feigning arrogance.

"Oh my god," she laughed at him, shoving him lightheartedly before kissing him again. "When does our flight leave?"

"In three hours. I'll help you pack." He put her suitcase on the bed, pulling her clothes out of the drawers and neatly placed them in the suitcase. She walked into the bathroom to collect her toiletries, finally digesting her new plans for the weekend. She was going to Canada for the first time with the man that she loved.


	29. Chapter 29

"The autoimmune skin disease lecture was fantastic. We rarely see diseases like pemphigus foliaceus or systemic lupus erythematosus so seeing actual cases was pretty amazing. I sat in on a lecture about new advancements in brain tumor therapy, which was nice because neurology is something general practitioners hardly dabble in. I went to lectures and practicums on ultrasonography and laser therapy, another thing I've considered specializing in…"

Sidney listened with admiration and respect as Dulci recounted her week of conferences. She was so animated, speaking with her hands, her eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm and exhilaration, her voice full of passion for her craft, and her mouth was stuck in a permanent smile. He had no idea what she was actually telling him apart from a few words he understood, but he was more than elated that she enjoyed herself and took away from it. She deserved it.

"And of course I went to every orthopedic lecture and practicum I could. I skipped lunch to… " Dulci stopped talking, looking at him with a large grin on her face.

"How much of this is going over your head?"

"About eighty percent of it," he admitted with a small laugh.

"Why didn't you tell me to stop? You were going to let me go on and on. You're probably bored to tears," she snuggled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Because I asked how the conference went, and when you started talking, I couldn't stop you." Sidney leaned in closer. "And besides, you're enthusiasm is very contagious. Its pretty sexy," he whispered as he unbuckled his seatbelt, excusing himself as he climbed over her and into the aisle.

Dulci inhaled slowly, not because he was wearing new cologne that smelt like sex as he brushed against her or because she could see his muscles rippling through his tight shirt, but because of the glimpse of a buckle that she'd recently become very familiar with. She broke out into goose bumps as she remembered the first time she saw it. She subconsciously touched her wrists, blushing at the memory of their last time together and the slight simmering pain of tight shoulders the morning after. For a moment she considered meeting him in that bathroom to further explore how they could use that belt in such a confined space, and when she stood, adrenalin pumping as she decided to go for it, she saw him emerge, subtly pulling his shirt over the belt.

"Nice belt," Dulci smiled lustfully at him, biting her lip as he climbed back over her.

"Oh, you noticed that, did you?" he winked at her, settling back into his seat.

"Did you wear it on purpose?"

"Absolutely," he smiled sexily at her before giving her a quick kiss. "I never realized how many functions this belt would have, and I fully intend on finding all of the ways I can use it on you the minute we get home," he whispered into her ear.

She looked at her watch, glad that the flight only had another half an hour before it landed.

They were practically sprinting out of the airport, rolling suitcases screaming from the speed of the small wheels on the pavement as they ran toward the luxurious SUV Sidney rented for the weekend. Opening the backdoor, he threw both of their luggage into the trunk space before getting into the respective seats for the drive. Dulci climbed over the center console, straddling Sidney as she kissed him fully. They were both breathless as the continued in the airport parking lot, temporarily uncaring about the others in the parking lot. Dulci trailed her hand down his chest and stomach, landing on the belt buckle as she fumbled with it, eventually unbuckling it as she sucked and nipped aggressively at his jaw and neck. She smiled as she finally unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, snaking her hand into his pants, enveloping his very erect penis.

"Not here," Sidney managed as he reluctantly pulled her hand out, holding it in his as he looked at her. Dulci had her eyes closed, lips swollen from vigorous kissing, cheeks and neck red with arousal. Her breathing was slightly labored, each breath almost coming out as a whimper. When she finally opened her eyes, Sidney kissed her again, pulling her close against him.

"The drive it only twenty minutes," he said against her lips as he found it difficult to stop kissing her, finding it even harder to remove his hands off of her breasts and ass as he caressed them.

"Start driving," Dulci demanded. Without warning, she moved off of him and sat in the passenger's seat, buttoning her cardigan as Sidney put the car in drive, speeding out of the parking lot toward his house.

Dulci snickered under her breath as she watched Sidney drive home, getting more and more irritated as they got stopped at every traffic intersection on the way to his house. His jaw was clenched, nostrils flared, hands wrapped so tightly around the steering wheel that his knuckles were white.

"God damn it," he muttered as they got stuck at another stoplight. The twenty-minute drive had become closer to an hour because of the rush hour traffic. Dulci slid her hand onto his thigh, kneading lightly in an attempt to temporarily sooth him. He looked at her as he took her hand, kissing the back of it as his phone started to ring.

"Yeah," Sidney answered without looking at the caller ID. While Dulci's simple gesture worked for a small moment, Sidney was physically tense again, throwing his head back against the headrest.

"Fuck. I forgot," he sighed, rubbing his free hand across his face.

"I know I said… I'm on my way to the house… Can't you give me an hour?" he pleaded, accelerating through the intersection faster than he should have.

"Ok.. I'll turn around." He hung up, tossing his phone carelessly into the cup holder before making a U-turn.

"I'm sorry in advance," Sidney started, hands clenching the steering wheel again. "I forgot I told my sister I'd practice with her today when I got home. She wont take no for an answer and I don't want a temper tantrum to ruin our weekend."

"So we're going to play hockey?"

Sidney quickly turned to find Dulci grinning at him. He was preparing himself, certain that she'd be upset that their impending afternoon of uninhibited sex would be replaced with an impromptu trip to the rink.

"Uh.. We can play around a bit. She needs practice blocking shots. She's a goalie."

"Its a good thing I'm tagging along. I've got a mean…catch, block, save in the net," she feigned confidence as she tried to remember the hockey terminology she wasn't very familiar with.

"Is that so?" he laughed as he looked in his rearview mirror. "Maybe you could teach Taylor a thing or two about the game."

"I'll teach her everything I know," Dulci continued to joke.

"Where is the weakest spot in your crease?" he asked, waiting patiently for Dulci to muster up an answer, knowing she wasn't exactly the most knowledgeable when it came to hockey.

"You should know."

Pulling up to the last intersection before the rink, Sidney looked at Dulci, appreciating her playfulness, only to find her looking at him with dark, hungry eyes.

"Five hole?" he asked, slowly running his hand up her leg. When he saw her brows subtly furrow, he amended his answer. "Between the legs?"

Dulci nodded, wishing they didn't have to meet his sister to practice. It seemed as if the entire plane and car ride was nothing but foreplay, and Dulci's body was practically wringing with sexual frustration. She wouldn't complain because she found it adorable that he spent as much time with his sister as he schedule permitted given their distance, but she wanted to close her own recent and present distance from Sidney, both geographically and physically.

"Thank you for being so understanding," he took her hand, giving it a small squeeze as he focused on the road.

"Of course. I think its sweet that you help your sister. I mean, you're the best at what you do. You'd be doing her a disservice by not practicing with her. Besides, I haven't been on skates in years."

"I promise I'll make it up to you," he smiled as he pulled into the rink, more than grateful that Dulci was flexible with their sudden change of plans. He found himself hoping that she'd be as considerate years from now when meetings, conferences, interviews, photo shoots, and endless practices would interrupt their lives.

"Oh, I'm counting on you to make it up to me on every surface of your house tonight," Dulci told him, staring him straight in the eyes. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door before whispering, "with the belt," turning in her seat to hop out of the SUV. He grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the vehicle, giving her a toe-curling kiss, reluctantly pulling away after a few moments, knowing they were at the brink of no return.

"Lets go and get this done and out of the way before I bend you over the backseat of the rental."

It had been a little over an hour that they'd been practicing. Dulci did unsteady laps around one side of the rink as Sidney and Taylor practiced different techniques and shots on the other. She listened as he spoke to Taylor as both a brother and a mentor, giving her words of encouragement if she was getting frustrated or talking harmless trash if she successfully blocked a tough shot. Occasionally Dulci found herself to be the butt of their jokes as the siblings would yell to watch out, laughing as Dulci would crouch down to avoid getting hit. She didn't mind, though, finding it to be the most fun she'd had in a long time. She found herself purposely yelling "brick," when Sidney would wind up for a slap shot, doing a victory dance when he fanned. Dulci was skating over toward the opposite net when Sidney sped up behind her, catching her off guard as he hooked her around the waist with her arms, swinging her around and out of ear shout.

"You just wait until I get you home. There's not telling what I'm going to do to you," he said suggestively, pinning Dulci to the goal post between his arms.

"Get a room!" Taylor yelled from the other end of the ice, breaking up the verbal foreplay that Sidney and Dulci had started.

He winked at Dulci as he back-peddled away from her, turning to make another place at Taylor. Wanting to join in on their fun, Dulci slowly skated toward the siblings. She wasn't sure how to go about asking to play, or if they would even let her try, but she figured it was worth a shot.

Sidney and Taylor were indistinctively talking, and as Dulci skated behind Sidney to get his attention, Taylor passed him some pucks to set up for more shots. Sidney reared backward, swinging his stick high in the air only to feel it hit something, and before he had the chance to turn around, fearing the worst, he heard something snap. He thought it was his stick, but when he turned around, he saw Dulci lying on the ice, reaching for an arm that was underneath her. She yelped a little when she sat up, clenching her teeth and screaming when she pulled her right arm around. Sidney knelt down instantly, trying to help her in some way.

"Dulci, I'm so sorry," he repeated, wiping blood from the laceration on her right cheekbone, which he assumed was what his stick hit before she went down.

"Its ok," she winced, tears streaming down her face as she held her arm. "I think I broke my arm," she stuttered, trying not to hyperventilate from the overwhelming pain.

"Sid, we need to take her to the hospital," Taylor nudged him before they both skated behind Dulci to help her up.

Sidney drove at record speeds to get Dulci to the hospital, only to wait in the emergency room waiting area for a while before getting triaged into a bed for radiographs and pain management.

"Good evening, Dulci. I'm Dr. Flannery, the orthopedic surgeon on call tonight. How are you feeling?"

"Those are good drugs," Dulci slurred, finally feeling some relief after getting a hefty dose of narcotics. It didn't help that she was exhausted from the week of conferences, the flight, the skating, or the very soothing thumb massage Sidney was giving her left hand. The IV catheter was painful, but his touch was helping her relax.

"It looks like you've got a pretty ugly humerus fracture above your right elbow. You'll need surgery to have this repaired."

Sidney sat out of the way and let the nurses take over, stripping Dulci out of her clothes and into a hospital gown.

"So much for our night of steamy sex," Dulci whispered, trying to lighten the mood as she signed the surgical release forms sloppily with her left hand, handing it to a nurse.

"At least I got to see you naked," he half-grinned.

"Yeah, I'm sure I looked really sexy with the highly unflattering lights, angles, and this nice gash," she pointed to her face before patting the bed for him to join her.

"You always look beautiful, bad lighting and all," he kissed her sutured cheek as he tried to squeeze into the bed beside her.

"I have an embarrassing admission," she closed her eyes, feeling the effects of the narcotics getting stronger. "I'm terrified of anesthesia."

"The doctor is afraid of anesthesia?" he teased her.

"I anesthetize, not the other way around. And besides, I know about the risks and complications of anesthesia. One of my first routine surgeries out of vet school died from unforeseen anesthesia complications."

"You'll be fine."

"What if I'm not fine? What if me being rolled out of this room on a gurney is the last time we see each other?"

"Dulci, you'll be fine, and I'll be right here waiting for you after surgery," he held her close, wanting to ease her drug-induced neuroses about anesthesia related deaths.

"The surgery is going to take eight or nine hours. Go home and sleep in your bed," she yawned, snuggling into him, wanting him to stay, but knowing it would be more feasible for him to leave considering it was getting late.

"I'm not leaving. I'll be here when you're out of surgery," he told her as the nurses came to take her down to the OR.

He could feel her body become tense through the drugs, knowing she was panicking about the anesthesia. He whispered repeatedly that she'd be fine as they rolled her through the hallway until they reached the elevator.

"This is it," he pointed to the "No Visitors Past This Point" sign. He leaned in to kiss her, caressing her cheek in a comforting manner. As he pulled away, he saw that a couple of tears had fallen, and it broke his heart.

"Please don't leave," she whispered, completely negating everything she told him only a couple moments prior.

"I wont," he squeezed her hand before kissing her palm.

"Incase I don't wake up," she started, staring vulnerably at him, "I love you."

Before he got a chance to reciprocate, something that he'd wanted to do for a long time when they were both conscious, the nurses rolled her through the doors to the OR suites, leaving him standing alone in a busy hallway, wanting to rush through the doors to tell her how he felt.

He walked slowly back into the waiting area, sitting next to Taylor.

"They just took her into surgery?" she asked, holding up her phone with a message from their mother.

"Yeah," he reclined into the uncomfortable seat, knowing he wouldn't get a second of sleep in that hospital.

"Are you ok?" she asked, tapping him on the knee.

"Yeah," he repeated in the same tone.

"What's wrong?" she threw her phone in her pocket, turning to give him her undivided attention.

"I didn't get a chance to tell her that I love her," he said honestly, expecting his sister to give him shit about it, but she only nodded sympathetically.

"I'm sure she knows, Sid."

"I hope so," he exhaled, wishing time would go by quickly.

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest," she rose, stretching her arms above her head before pulling her keys out of her pocket.

"I'm staying," he told her as he stood, hugging his sister before sitting back down, settling in for a long night.

The first two hours were filled with phone games, aimless internet searches, and Christmas shopping. One of the doctor's would come to find him every hour with an update on the progress, but time seemed to get slower and slower with every glance at his watch.

He felt Dulci's phone vibrate in his pocket, and when he pulled it out, he saw that she had a missed calls and message from someone named "Anderson". He listened to the voice message, telling himself that it wouldn't be snooping if the message required a call back.

"Hey Dulci. I got in touch with four of the surgical internships/residencies that we discussed. They're very interested in you. Just a reminder, one is in Denver, one is in Annapolis, one is in Los Angeles, and one is in Ithaca. They're just waiting on your applications and letters of recommendation. Give me a call back."

Sidney pulled the phone from his ear, confused by the context of the message. Dulci had only said once that she considered getting board certified for surgery, but told him and his family that she wanted to focus on geriatric orthopedic medicine, that she wanted to open a rehab facility. What changed her mind, and why hadn't she talked to him about it? He'd be more than happy to support her in whatever she decided to do. He chided himself for feeling left out, as if he wasn't a factor in her future decision-making. Shaking his head, he decided to compartmentalize his insecurities until he could talk to her and hear her side of the story.


	30. Chapter 30

"Dulci?"

His voice was quiet, a notch or two above a whisper, but loud enough that it resonated in her head like a siren. Her head was pounding, probably from the anesthesia cocktail and lack of food for hours. Her eyelids were heavy to the point that she couldn't open them, and when she cracked them, she instantly shut them again. The room was bright, sunlight blazing in through the window of her recovery room. She cursed the nurses who opened her blinds. She scrunched her forehead as if it would help block out the sounds and light from her throbbing head.

"Can you hear me?"

She felt the hospital bed dip on her left side, no doubt from the two-hundred pound man trying to squeeze in next to her. She turned her head to face him, still squeezing her eyes shut. When she inhaled through her nose, she instantly felt the need to vomit. The smell that she'd grown to know as an aphrodisiac mixed like water and oil with her headache. It was overpowering, and while she already felt like a dud for ruining their weekend breaking her arm and confessing her feelings without any reciprocation, she knew vomiting on him would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. She was taken out of her thoughts when she felt a hand gently stroke her forehead, brushing the nonexistent hair out of her face. It was soothing and relaxing, and she didn't want it to stop. Still keeping her eyes closed, she reached up to feel for his hand, and he took a hold of it immediately, kissing her knuckles.

"Good morning," he said softly as he continued the forehead strokes. She wanted to snuggle into him, but her stomach was still queasy about the smell of cologne despite the fact that he was helping her headache fade.

"Hi," she said scratchily, opening her eyes fully for the first time. Sidney looked like hell. He had bags under his eyes as if he hadn't slept for a days. Completely forgetting that her arm was surgically repaired only hours ago, she tried to reach up and touch his face with her right arm, only to realize that her arm was wrapped in a very thick cast, bent in a ninety-degree angle. She was wearing a sling that held her arm very snug to her body.

"Don't try to move your arm," he told her. She looked down at her right hand, and almost cried at how swollen her fingers were. She wiggled them, trying to get circulation back to her hand.

"They look like sausages," she said in distress, but finding the whole situation comical all of a sudden. She started out trying to stifle the giggles, but it turned into a full stomach laugh, which made Sidney laugh as well.

"Dulci, I need to tell you something." He cleared his throat, becoming very serious in that moment. He looked down as if contemplating what he wanted to say, or how he wanted to say it. He looked into her eyes, and Dulci could see a range of emotions flashing through his. He looked melancholy, like he was going to give her horrible news, and it occurred to her that she already knew what he was going to tell her. His feelings for her weren't mutual. That was the reason he didn't reciprocate before she went into surgery. She was already physically broken, and the idea of being told he didn't love her would have emotionally shattering.

"Sidney, please d…" She was muted by his lips, giving her a sweet but urgent kiss.

"I love you," his smiled before kissing her again. "I told you weeks ago when you fell asleep on me, quietly snoring, drooling on my chest," he chuckled, making her smile as he made jabs at her for her quirks. "I wanted to tell you for weeks, but wimped out on multiple occasions, " he said rolling his eyes at himself. She leaned up to kiss him, pulling herself closer to him with her only functioning arm.

"The next time you want to tell me you love me, please don't look like you're getting ready to dump me," she said before kissing him again, ending it with an Eskimo kiss.

"I didn't want to do it here, but it was going to burst out of me either way," he explained as the orthopedic surgeon walked in.

"Alright, Dulci. Its time to discharge you."

* * *

><p><em>She still hasn't mentioned the internships<em>, he thought to himself as he ran the hot water in the tub, helping Dulci lower herself in. He didn't want to force it out of her given that she probably wasn't even thinking about it, but he wanted to know what was going on. She loved him, he loved her, and when the declaration is said aloud and made common knowledge, it meant that the relationship was serious. She would've told him if she was considering taking the internship because none of them were close to Pittsburgh except Akron, and even that was a two-hour drive. How long were the internships? Would she work ridiculous hours? Would he ever see her if she took it? Most importantly, would their relationship survive?

"What are you doing?" he asked amusedly when he noticed how awkward she was being, sitting with her legs bent against her chest as if she was trying to hide her naked body from him.

"Are you hiding from me?" He looked puzzled but amused.

"No. I'm freezing and trashed out of my mind from the Vicodin," she smiled with her eyes closed.

Being trashed was obvious, but Sidney didn't believe her initially about being cold. The water was piping hot and Dulci's skin that was submerged underwater was pink from the high temperature. But then he saw her shivering, gripping her knees closer to her chest.

"Scoot up. I'm getting in with you," he told her as he turned the water off.

"You don't have to. I'm oh..." She stopped herself as he pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it across the bathroom.

"Kay," she finished, gazing longingly at his arms, chest, and stomach. She wasn't sure in her hazy mind if he'd been working out more or if the room had fantastic lighting, but he looked like he should be doing a Men's Fitness magazine cover shoot.

"You're so fucking sexy," she continued staring with drunken eyes. "Do me a favor and never put clothes on."

Sidney laughed out loud, trying to hide the blush that crept across his face at her compliments. He unbuckled his belt and jeans, pushing all of his bottoms off in one go. He laughed again when she audibly gulped, looking at all of him.

"How am I supposed to play if I'm naked?" He asked as he stepped in behind her. "You want to share me with every female fan?" He wrapped her in his arms and legs, pulling her onto his chest without dipping her arm in the water.

"I don't care as long as I'm the only one sleeping with you," she murmured as he started massaging her shoulders. "I am the only one you're sleeping with, right?"

"Of course you're the only one. You've ruined me for all other women, and I'll stay naked as long as you do" he chuckled, working the knots out of her right shoulder. He could tell her shoulder was tight when they left the hospital, probably from the sling and how they had her arm lifted for ten hours.

"I'm not nearly as beautiful as you are," she rubbed circles around his kneecap absentmindedly. "I don't have big boobs like Carly."

"For the record, I happen to love your boobs. They're perfect. Carly had a boob job and it took some getting used to," he mentally grimaced at how abnormal her breasts looked afterward, how unnatural they felt, and how strange it was that they didn't move at all when they had sex.

"That feels soo good," she slurred, letting her head fall to the left, giving him full access to her neck and shoulder. The way she was purring and lightly moaning, digging her fingers into his legs was giving him an erection.

"Those noises are killing me and I can't properly touch you for until you get that cast off," he whispered, kissing her ear before he continued.

"Like hell you're waiting. I have a broken arm. I'm not dead," she scoffed as she leaning into him again, yawning as she fully relaxed.

He let her stay that way for a few moments before he bathed the both of them, washing and conditioning her hair for her without getting her cast wet.

"I think I should cut my hair," she thought out loud as she tried to dry herself off with her non-dominant hand, failing miserably. "I'm not going to be able to do much with it this long."

"I can take you if you want," Sidney offered as he took over, leading her into the bedroom where he could fish out some boxers and tee shirt for her. He moseyed over to her suitcase to get some underwear, bringing it back and handing it to her. He tried not to pay attention, turning away from her as she tried to dress herself. She struggled getting her underwear up at first, but figured it out. The toughest part was the tee shirt, which she had to pull over her casted arm before anything else. She couldn't raise her right arm but so high, and when she winced, he wanted to go to her, but knew she wanted to figure it all out on her own.

"I'm exhausted," she sat in his bed, yawning every couple of minutes.

"Me too, which is why I think we should to take a nap and then we'll go shopping for dinner," he stifled a yawn, helping her lay on her left side, arm elevated with pillows before he settled in behind her.

"And clothes," she added. "None of my shirts or sweaters will fit over this cast," she explained, backing into him to get comfortable.

Sidney wasn't sure how long they'd been asleep when he awoke to Dulci getting out of bed. Her phone was vibrating on the nightstand before she took it into the en suite to talk. He couldn't hear a lot, but when he heard her say, "Dr. Anderson," he knew it was about the internship. Sitting up, he listened more carefully as she explained her accident, but that she'd given thought to Annapolis and Akron. He felt nauseous when he heard Dulci ask when she'd hear back from the program advisors and when she could start, meaning that she'd be leaving him sooner rather than later. When he heard her end the call, he feigned being asleep.

* * *

><p>"Let's invite your family over for dinner tonight," Dulci suggested as they drove back to Sidney's house after shopping.<p>

"Sure, whatever," he muttered coldly. He scratched his head, still outraged that she didn't mention anything to him about the internships. He waited patiently for her to tell him after she crawled back into bed, nuzzling against him to "wake" him, but she never mentioned anything. He couldn't help but think she was actively and purposely hiding her plans from him. He even went as far as to inquire about whether or not she still wanted to open an orthopedic rehabilitation facility, which she replied that she didn't know. In his mind, he gave her ample opportunity to at least start a discussion, but she never took the bate.

"I'll make a bourbon pork roast with potatoes and roasted broccoli. I'm hungry just thinking about it," she said excitedly, rubbing her belly.

"You could hardly dress yourself. How are you going to cook for five people with one arm?" He instantly wanted to take it back when he saw her physically flinch, looking confused at how curt he was being with her.

"I'm sorry. I have a headache," he lied, giving her a forced apologetic smile.

"Well, maybe we could just order a pizza? Watch some TV or a movie?" She reached for his hand, but he purposely moved it out of her reach. He was so mentally troubled about the whole situation that he didn't even want Dulci to touch him.

"I'd rather just go to sleep," he muttered before turning the radio volume up, signifying the end of the conversation.

They drove the rest of the way in silence, Dulci looking out the passenger window while Sidney let his thoughts run away. If she wasn't being forthcoming with the internship, what else was she hiding from him?

He carried the grocery and shopping bags into the house, placing them on the counter before leaving to go into his study, shutting the door behind him.

Dulci stood in the kitchen completely and utterly stunned at his behavior. He didn't even stay long enough to help her unload the grocery bags. Slowly, she unpacked them and arranged them in his gigantic refrigerator. She prepared the marinade and cooked the pork accordingly. She prepared the mash potatoes, and sautéed the broccoli to save time. When everything was ready, she slowly climbed the stairs, afraid to even wake him for fear that he'd say something harsh again. Walking into the bedroom, she didn't see him sleeping. Confused, she walked toward the staircase, only to hear him talking to someone behind a closed door.

"She's planning on moving to Annapolis or Akron to do a surgical internship that lasts for God knows how long and she hasn't told me. Someone she knows is helping her coordinate with some hospitals… Yeah, I over heard them talking this afternoon in the bathroom like it's a big secret… Am I even a fucking consideration for her? Has she ever even thought about how this would affect me, us?"

She gasped, bring her hand over her mouth. Suddenly his callous mood made sense; he didn't understand the context of the phone call he overheard with Anderson earlier that afternoon. He was fearful and angry, thinking she was going to leave. She wanted to explain that it was only an opportunity, and that nothing was set in stone, that she'd talk to him if it ever became more than just an inkling. She took a breath and knocked lightly, holding the breath in as he stomped to the door.

"Dinners ready," she told him, looking apprehensive.

"Dad, I've gotta go," he said, hanging up. He gave her a halfhearted smile as he walked past her toward the stairs. Following behind, she contemplated how she'd bring up the internship, asking herself why he would tell his father, of all people, about her potential plans.

"Smells delicious," he said flatly as he made his plate and walked to the dinning room.

"I hope you like it," she said optimistically, trying to tip toe around him in order to avoid the Sidney that reared his cold and distant head earlier.

She watched as he pushed the food around his plate, brooding like a toddler with hurt feelings, shooting down all of the casual conversation she started.

"You don't like it," she snatched his plate from him, finished with the childish behavior he'd displayed for the past couple of hours. She tossed the leftovers in the trash, throwing the plates in his sink to get away from him if only for a couple of moments.

"Dulci," he beckoned her apologetically, realizing that he foul mood soured their evening by her sudden departure from the dinner table to get away from him. Regardless of what was happening between them, she didn't deserve to be treated that way, especially since she went out of her way to cook a delicious dinner one-handed. He ran to catch her, not wanting to end the night the way it started.

"I'm going to bed," she snarled. She turned to march toward the stairs, only to run directly into him.

"I'm sorry," he started, but she didn't want to listen. She was finished.

"Dulci," he repeated, grabbing her arm to turn her around in order to get her attention.

"Let go," she said quietly, not wanting the confrontation to escalate anymore. She knew the tears were coming, and she didn't want him to see her crying over his poor behavior.

"Please just let me explain."

"There's no explanation needed," she pulled at her arm, unable to free herself from his grasp. It felt like the hypothetical rejection at the hospital all over again, but this time, she'd make sure she didn't hear any of it.

"Dulci, lets talk…" he started to plea.

"Talk about the internship that you know nothing about? Talk about moving to 'Annapolis or Akron without giving your feelings any consideration?' Is that what you want to talk about?" She spun around, surprising him with her shouting. She must've overheard him talking to his father in the study, and he knew instantly that he had made a terrible mistake, and it felt like a kick in the stomach. He'd managed everything all wrong.

"I just thought you'd tell me..."

"I didn't say anything because it was just a fucking thought. It was just an idea, something I've played around with since I graduated vet school," she shouted, tears coming to her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me? Wouldn't you want me to tell you if I were up as a free agent, potentially moving thousands of miles away?"

"Should I tell you every stupid, asinine, insignificant idea that crosses through my mind?"

"Oh, so thinking about moving to a different state where you'll spend most of your time is insignificant?" He turned the tables. "Moving away from me, from us, is insignificant to you?"

"No," she choked at the idea if not being with him. "If it was a definite possibility, I'd have told you about it," she reasoned, shaking from how intense the evening had become.

"It sounds like more than a possibility to me. It's like you're hiding it from me, Dulci. You're getting phone calls about internships and programs that want you and you take them in the bathroom while I'm within earshot behind the fucking door. Don't lie and tell me this isn't a possibility."

"It's not anymore," she sniffled, feeling her swollen fingers.

"Ah ha! I was right! You were considering it. Were you going to tell me right before you left, bags packed and house sold?"

"I broke my fucking humerus and elbow! I have loads of titanium in my arm! Don't you get it? That ship has sailed! It'll take months for the bone and muscle to heal, not to mention the months if physical therapy and possible loss of full rotation in my elbow! Do you have any idea how it feels to potentially lose the ability to do something you love?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" His gaze was ice cold, nostrils flared, muscles contracted. "I had a career-ending concussion! I couldn't drive, read, watch TV, nothing! I stayed in my bed for weeks, terrified that I was done, that everything I've wanted since I was a little boy was over. So yes, Dulci, I know more than anyone else how it feels!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize…" Carly had mentioned a concussion, but Dulci had no idea how devastating it was for him. She looked at the ground, planted to the spot, unable to move.

"You should've told me," he insisted in a quieter, less menacing tone.

"I didn't even know I was considering it again until this past week at the conference! Forgive me if I wasn't thinking of telling you what I may or may not do with my life when I was a slab on a table about to be cut open," she turned to walk up the stairs.

"You could've told me on the plane! On the drive to the rink! At any point today, but you didn't. And do you think I'm going to believe that the only thing stopping you was your broken arm?" He followed her, infuriated again that she turned her back on him, that she was walking away while he was trying to understand what was happening.

"The only thing stopping me from doing what I've dreamt of doing is the thought of losing you! The idea of being away from you! The thought that you'd move on!" She looked at him, eyes and cheeks red from crying and shouting. "I told you I wouldn't leave you and I meant it. What you didn't hear from my earlier conversation with Dr. Anderson is that he's trying to get me into a surgical internship in Pittsburgh, but its very competitive and selective," she said resignedly, done with the fight, wiping her face dry.

"Dulci," he reached for her, afraid his prying and shouting at her did irreparable damage. He should've trusted his instinct, that she loved and cared about him and their relationship.

"Please don't," she stepped away from his reach, wanting and needing solitude for a while. She stepped around him and walking into his bedroom, reaching for her things to put into her suitcase.

"Where are you going?" he panicked, thinking she was packing her bags to leave. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"No."

He followed her toward one of his guest bedrooms, stopping only because she shut him out as she closed the door behind her, looking at him one last time with crestfallen eyes.

He scrubbed his kitchen, trying to work the frustration and disappointment out of himself from his earlier actions, and the hour's worth of running and heavy lifting he did in his basement didn't even begin to help.

"Yeah?" He answered his phone, not paying any attention to the caller as he cleaned.

"So I've got almost all the party planning done but I need a favor from you."

"Carly, now is not a good time," he huffed as he started packing the left overs to store in the refrigerator.

"Now is as good a time as any. You wouldn't have answered, otherwise," she quipped with a forced sarcastic politeness to her voice.

"I didn't even notice who was calling, but had I saw your name, I probably would've ignored it," he responded in the same tone.

"Well tonight is your lucky night, I'll only take a couple moments of your previous time. Is Dulci within ear shot?"

"No." He hoped Carly didn't recognize the guilt and regret in his voice, knowing that he lost his temper over something he didn't understand or want to understand initially, not giving her a chance to tell him herself when she'd only heard about her options very recently. He contemplated on multiple occasions to go to her guest room and profusely apologize for being an asshole, but every time he raised his fist to knock, he told himself she needed time and space and he'd descend down the stairs. If it wasn't for him, they'd be watching a movie or playing some kind of board of card game, spending some much needed time together alone instead of sleeping in different bedrooms.

"Good. So I reserved the..."

He stopped listening, flopping on his couch as he thought endlessly about how he could amend the situation. He remembered how hurt she looked when he was yelling at her, accusing her of being secretive and withdrawn about her plans when she was only trying to work out the kinks before she told him. When he thought about it, he wanted Dulci to do as her heart desired, and if it meant her moving to LA for a three-year internship, he'd stand by her, wanting her to go and live her dream. He was lucky enough to have a support system to achieve his highest aspirations. At the end of the day, he wanted to be supportive of Dulci with all of her endeavors.

"Sidney!" Carly yelled at him, getting his attention. "Were you even listening?"

"Sorry, I got lost in thought. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if you've given any thought on how you'll get her to the party without giving the surprise away?"

"I may not be bringing her to the party," he sighed, closing his eyes as he head fell backward onto the couch cushion.

"What do you mean?"

"I fucked up and she's angry with me."

"I swear to God, if you fucked around on her," Carly started in a menacing tone.

"No! It's nothing like that. I assumed something and treated her like an asshole without hearing her out. She has every right to be pissed off," he said solemnly.

"Details," she demanded.

"She and her mentor are trying to find surgical internships for her, but none are in the area. I heard her mention Akron and Annapolis as possibilities, and I let my anger of her potentially leaving without telling me get in the way."

"Could you be anymore dense?" she snorted. "Dulci is loyal and considerate to the people she cares about, and you're number one on that list. She'll never admit it, but she's been in love with you since the moment she met you. Think about it, do you really think she'd leave you in the dark if she was even thinking about moving? She would've told you the minute she found out."

"I know and I don't know how to fix it."

"Go to her right now. Even if she seems distant, like she wants to be alone, she wants you to go sweep her off her feet."

He quickly said goodbye and hung up, climbing the stairs two at a time until he reached the second level. Stopping in front of the guest room door, he knocked lightly before opening the door. Panic set in instantly as his heart and respiratory rate quadrupled, looking at a bed that was made as if she'd never been in there. Her suitcase was gone. She couldn't have possibly left or else he would've heard her leave. Turning toward to go back downstairs, thinking she may have walked down without his knowledge, he heard the faint sound of snoring coming from his bedroom. Opening the door, he found her curled up on his side of the bed, clutching his pillow with her only working arm, wearing one of his old tee shirts as she drooled excessively on his pillow. He stood still, watching her sleep for what seemed like ages, wearing his clothes, sleeping on his pillow like it was a replacement for him, and knew that he would do anything to make it right.


	31. Chapter 31

Sidney closed the double doors behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible. Dragging his tee shirt over his head, he tossed it haphazardly into the closet close to his laundry hamper before heading into the en suite. Splashing water over his face after he brushed his teeth, he thought about the evening. He fucked up and he knew it. He should've asked her directly about the internships instead of acting like a pouty child. Wiping his face with a towel, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, something that didn't usually sit in his bathroom. On the tank of the toilet was a see-through bag of various things belonging to Dulci, and the item that took up the most space was tampons. Looking in his trashcan, he was relieved that there wasn't an empty wrapper at the bottom. The idea of Dulci having a broken limb and a period made him shutter. She more than likely felt terrible, and a menstrual cycle on top of that would've been hell for her.

He changed quickly and moved toward his bed, climbing in in front of her as she slept. Settling in on the same pillow, he noticed that her eyes were red and puffy, like she'd recently been crying. He wondered how long she'd been asleep, or if she'd been crying while he was talking to Carly. Brushing hair from her neck, he grew concerned with how sweaty she was. He could see moisture sitting on her skin. Her upper body was exposed to the temperature of the room, which was cool, and his tee shirt that she was wearing was drenched in sweat. He hoped she wasn't getting an infection, something that the orthopedic surgeon discussed with Dulci at length, but when he felt her forehead and cheeks for a fever, she felt normal.

"Are you checking me for a fever?" Dulci murmured, half of her face smashed into the pillow. She opened one eye in enough time to see him physically jump, her voice startling him.

"Yeah. You're sweating buckets," he explained as he climbed off the bed, heading back into the bathroom to find his thermometer.

"Its kind of hot in here," Dulci muttered quietly as she shifted to sit up, wincing as she used sore muscles in her broken arm.

"I have the thermostat set pretty low. Its pretty chilly in here." He held the thermometer out for Dulci.

"I'm fine," Dulci brushed the thermometer away.

"Dulci, just do it, please. For my peace of mind," he forced the thermometer back in front of her.

She thought about getting up and going back into one of the guest rooms for her own peace of mind. She didn't want to argue with him anymore about anything. She was tired, slightly painful, and feeling a little nauseous, and the memory of his attitude wasn't making her feel better. She looked up at him and her contempt quickly changed when she saw how worried he looked, true heartfelt concern registering all over his face. She took the thermometer and stuck it in her mouth, hoping he wasn't right, but feeling very fortunate at his attempt the take care of her. With the finishing beep, she pulled it out of her mouth to find her temperature was normal.

"Its normal," she sighed, handing the thermometer back to him.

Sidney was truly perplexed. He was feeling a little chilly and she was actively sweating like she was running a 10K on a thread mill. He couldn't let her go back to sleep in a damp shirt, and before he let her lay back down, he offered her his hand, earning a quizzical look.

"That can't be comfortable," he pointed at the large circle of sweat on her chest. After she looked down at herself, she took his hand and slid out of bed. He pulled the hem of the tee shirt over her head, getting it snagged on the cast.

"Christ," he chuckled as he tried to get her shirt over the cast, earning as smile from Dulci. After a couple more tried, they were both laughing at how ridiculous and comical they probably looked.

"I think it's stuck in the back," Dulci turned, stifling laughter at how pissed off Sidney looked with the tee shirt. After some poking and prodding, the tee shirt broke free. Bunching the right sleeve of the dry tee shirt, he pushed the tee shirt over the cast, holding the shirt open for Dulci to get into before he pulled it down over her hips, his hands lingering there longer than they should have. Keeping her gaze, Sidney thought about how to start the discussion that needed to happen.

"What does the internship entail?" he broke the silent gaze with a sad, hesitant smile. He wanted her to be able to do anything and everything that she set her mind to, but hoped she would choose a program within a reasonable driving distance.

"Sid, do we have to talk about.." Dulci started exasperatedly, looking away, disappointed that he'd restart their argument and sour the night again.

"I want you to do it," he interrupted, putting her head between his hands, forcing her to look only at him. She looked at him completely skepticism and bewildered, replaying the entire fight in her mind. Moving out of Pittsburgh was the initial problem, and now he was telling her that he wanted her to leave, pending her acceptance into the Pittsburgh program.

"Well, I don't want you to leave, but I want you to do what you love, what you're passionate about, and if that means moving to LA for three years, then I want you to do it."

On the one hand, Dulci was over the moon that he was being supportive, but on the other hand, she wondered what changed his mind. He was very forthcoming in how much he disliked the idea for the entire afternoon and evening.

"If I did take the LA offer," she closed her eyes and sucked in a lung-full of air, preparing for the worst, "would we still be together?"

"Of course," he responded with an amused, don't-be-absurd look on his face.

"I'm sorry. I should've told you about it sooner." She pulled him close, hugging him the best she could one-armed, laying her head against his warm chest.

"No. You were right to have reservations about telling me until you knew for sure. I was being a selfish asshole. I should be the one apologizing. I don't handle change very well, and the idea of you moving made me feel out of control and irritable."

"Well, you felt left out, and I understand how awful it would feel to have someone close planning something substantial without your knowledge," she looked into his eyes ruefully. "I haven't had to answer to anyone in a long time." It was an honest answer, and Dulci hoped he would understand.

"You never answered to Henry?"

Hearing Henry's name come out of Sidney's mouth in their moment of sincerity caught her off guard. He knew that Dulci and Henry weren't a couple. Why would he insinuate that they were? They'd discussed her relationship with Henry at length a couple of months ago while they were still coming down from extraordinary sex. Why would he bring up the past? Was Henry still a threat in Sidney's eyes?

Finding her voice, she answered. "I never really talked much to Henry when I saw him," she blushed, realizing how provocative and promiscuous she made herself out to be. "I never told him much about my personal life because he didn't mean much to me other than sex." She shrugged, hoping she not only answered his question, but that she laid any uneasiness of Sid's about Henry to rest. He looked shattered, crestfallen, and a bit angry as he took a deep breath.

"So you're telling me that I'm on the same level as your old fuck buddy?" Sidney asked with injury in his voice. His hand fell from her face, feeling like he'd been punched in the stomach.

"No!" She gasped, grabbing his hand quickly, squeezing it to make him look at her. "Why would you even consider that?"

"Dulci, you just said you told him nothing about your life because it was different. And yet, something as big as a move for a couple of years is deemed insignificant to mention to me, your boyfriend. You can't see the parallel?"

And it was back to the internship dilemma. "A thousand times I'm sorry! You're right! I fucked up by keeping the internship from you," she threw her left arm up animatedly, waving it around exasperatedly. She'd hoped their argument was over and that they'd moved forward. She didn't have the strength or energy to continue.

Leaving him standing in the middle of the room, Dulci sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. How did their day get so out of hand, and how do they move on. She wracked her brain trying to figure out how to overcome the hurdle. With Henry, there weren't emotions and feelings to consider. She'd go about her daily life, and when one needed the other, they'd call, meet, and fuck until the early morning hours. Dulci recalled many times when they said almost nothing for hours, just conversing with their bodies. Remembering further back to Jason, their one fundamental disagreement, the abortion, was enough to end their relationship permanently. Was one omission about her future enough to end it in Sidney's eyes?

The dip of the bed beside her brought her to the present. "The reason I'm so vehement about this is because you've managed to become the most important thing in my life. You mean the world to me, so much so that I don't want anything to jeopardize that," Sidney said quietly, eyes flicking back and forth between hers, wanting to see her register what he was saying. Pushing her fallen hair behind her ear, he gave her a light kiss in an attempt to lighten the mood, only to have the kiss blossom into something stronger, fuller, boiling with heat on both ends. All of the fear surrounding secrets, all of the panic, shouting, arguing, all of the uncertainty and insecurity in both of them manifested itself into the kiss.

Clumsily, Dulci climbed onto his lap without interrupting their very fervent and intimate moment, straddling him as she tried to get as close to him as possible. She wondered for a moment if he'd push her away, remembering a claim he made in the bath that he wouldn't have sex with her while she was wearing the cast, but when he dipped both hands down her back, finding residence in her underwear to caress her backside, she sighed audibly into his mouth.

Sidney worked her with his mouth two fold, to show her how significant and vital she was and that she was much, much more than a plaything to him. He left a trail of kisses, bites, and sucks along her cheek, chin, ear, and neck as he held her in place with one hand at the base of her neck, letting the other creep under his tee shirt to caress her breasts, rolling her nipple around with the pad of his thumb. Lowering her back, he leaned forward, cupping her clothes breast with his hand, and brought her nipple between his teeth, pulling gently before he lapped at it with his tongue, saturating the fabric in the process. She moaned as she drove her hips into him, trembling slightly as he repeated, digging her nails into his knee. He smiled as he heard her panting, seeing her chest and stomach rise and fall quickly with the pleasurable sensation he was giving her. Pulling her back up, he kissed her again, sucking her bottom lip as he forewent disrobing her the conventional way. Avoiding the earlier debacle, he tore the tee shirt in half, making Dulci gasp into his mouth as she felt the cool air hit her chest. He pushed the tee shirt off of her shoulders, relieved that the shirt slid over the cast with ease. He slid his hand into the front of her underwear, feeling the evidence of her arousal as he slowly brushed his pointer and middle finger repeatedly over her clitoris.

"Fuuuuck," he groaned quietly into her mouth and she pushed harder into his hand, enveloping him inside of her. Her heavy breathing and moaning was driving him wild, and the smell of her dampened skin was intoxicating. He pulled his own shirt off as she continued to grind against his hand, and almost came when she subtly spit in her hand, pushed it into his pants, and warped it around him, stroking him slowly but fully.

Taking her around the waist, he scooted them both back into the center of the bed as they continued their searing kiss. Rolling them over, he let his mouth trail south, hitting all of her favorite erogenous zones, spending a significant amount of time on her nipples. Pulling both of them simultaneously, one with his fingers and the other with his teeth, he used his free hand to peel away her underwear as she flexed her hips upward, desperate for friction. Taking his mouth further, he kissed down the center of her stomach, taking the meaty part of her vulva gently between his teeth before he latched on to her clitoris, sucking and flicking his tongue together.

"Oooooohh," she groaned loudly as she coiled herself onto his sheets and duvet. Her guttural moan made him even harder, egging him on breathily as she whispered his name repeatedly. Switching between shaking his head from side to side and big circles, he sucked harder, making her legs shake. Pushing her knees into the mattress, she was even more exposed to him. Looking at the most intimate and personal part of her, he wondered if Henry or any other guy had ever been there. Looking up to her, he found her watching him, eyes heavy with desire, mouth ajar as she breathed heavily. When he looked back down, he could hear her audibly gulp, breathing hitched a little more, and he thought she was telling him that going there would be too much, but she never pulled away or said anything to deter him. Crawling back up her body, he pulled her back on top of him, shimmying out of his boxer briefs in the process.

As Dulci lowered herself onto him, he held her in place, armed weaves and wrapped tightly around her body as they both groaned long and low. Flexing his hips sharply and deeply, Dulci cried out something incoherent, throwing her head back as he found that spot. Doing it again, he held her head back, grabbing the hair and pulling as he peppered her neck and clavicle with nips.

"Ride me," he growled in her ear before taking the lobe between his lips. Dulci started moving, grinding against him so that he penis stimulated her g-spot. Without warning, he thrusted into her again, causing her entire body to tense with pure sensation. She was wrapped around him, but he could feel her toes curl against his legs, her legs trying to press together against his, and her arm wrapped tighter around his shoulders.

"You like it deep," he murmured against her skin, thrusting hard again, and he could tell she was close. The tightness made him dizzy as she rode him more.

"And hard," he growled as he pushed hard again, making all of her clench around him. He had to close his eyes because the look of her, the way her face was blazing with ecstasy and her body was a pink and flush, was making it hard for him not to come.

"Oh fuck," she breathed in a whisper, and it sounded so delicious that he weaved his hand into her hair again, holding her head and face close to his.

"Look at me," he demanded huskily, and when she opened her eyes, he kissed her hard, breathing her in and out before he pulled back, taking her surprise before he thrusted into her again, making her come completely undone. He held her close as she shuttered and quaked on top of him, filling the room with intimate noises of sexual release. He finally let go only after she was finished, gripping her hips as he came.

* * *

><p>Stretching the next morning, Dulci woke to find herself alone in bed, Sam as her only companion, kicking her feet as she dreamt. She noticed a note on the bedside table. Putting on her glasses, she read the note.<p>

D,

Went for a workout. Be back soon. I love you.

-S

The sentiment made her smile as she clutched the piece of paper to her naked chest like an infatuated adolescent. Sam army crawled over to her, pawing at her leg excitedly.

"Let's go out."

Finding some underwear and an oversized sweatshirt in her suitcase, she descended into the kitchen, letting Sam outside. Searching through his cabinets, she found an old, dusty coffee maker. Searching for coffee and filters, she found both in a top cabinet, too high for her to reach on her own. She found a stepping stool in a nearby closet, and when she stepped up, she was still too short.

"Seriously?"

Sidney entered in through the back door, closing it quietly behind him as he took in the sight. Dulci was scantily clad, wearing nothing but black underwear, a sweatshirt, which was hiked up as she reached on her tiptoes for something. He quietly walked toward her, admiring the view.

"Need some help?"

"CHRIST," Dulci jumped, nearly falling off of the stepping stool. She grabbed her chest, stepping down the stool.

"Sorry," he chuckled, kissing her quickly before holding up two coffee cups from Starbucks.

"I didn't even hear you come in."

"I came in through the back door. I saw that Sam was outside, so I figured the door was unlocked," he explained as he handed her a Starbucks cup of coffee.

"Are you hungry? I was thinking of making breakfast," she offered as she took a long sip of her latte.

"I would love breakfast," he murmured against her lips as he kissed her, "but my dad is waiting outside and my mom is on the way over to make us breakfast."

"What?! He saw me?" She shrieked, looking toward the windows, pulling her sweatshirt down unsuccessfully.

"No. I told him you weren't descent and he told me to get him when you were dressed. I wouldn't let anyone purposely see you like this," he kissed her again.

Quickly, Dulci climbed the stairs, Sidney trailing behind her as she awkwardly worked her way out of her sweatshirt. In an attempt to help, Sidney picked up a bra and brought it to her, helping her into it before hooking it behind her. He watched as she fixed the straps on her shoulders, noticing a bruise creeping up her arm above the brim of her cast.

"How's your arm?" He asked, giving her a kiss on her neck from behind, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned into him, letting her head fall over to give him better access. Taking the bate, he kissed her up and down her neck and shoulder, smiling as she sighed.

"Dulci, as much as I want to repeat last night, my dad's outside, and I'm not breaking my promise again." He laughed as she physically sulked in his arms, and swatted her butt playfully as she walked away towards the bathroom.

"Oh, and my entire extended family is coming over later for dinner," he called, chuckling as her she glared at him in the bathroom mirror.

* * *

><p>Dulci watched as Sidney navigated the busy Pittsburgh airport rush hour traffic, gazing at his serious profile, landing on his lips as he chewed them anxiously, drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel.<p>

"Motherfucker," he mumbled at the driver in front of him who was driving mind-crippling slowly. Stuck at another light, he took a large, purifying intake of air, ridding himself of the rising road rage.

"Remember your cousin's terrible but hilarious impression of Beyoncé?" Dulci attempted to distract him, bringing light to their weekend. He burst into loud, infectious laughter, and soon they were both in stitches.

"And then your aunt's impression of Jack Sparrow. That was pretty impressive."

The two reminisced about their weekend until they reached Dulci's house. Taking both of their luggage, Sidney deposited their bags next to her bed before going back outside for the giant delivery box at her door.

"Did you order something?" He asked, placing it on her kitchen counter.

"No. It's probably a birthday gift from a family member," she shrugged. "I need to call Dr. Harrison. I'll be right back. Open the box," she told him as she walked out if sight.

Breaking the packing tape with his keys, he opened the box to find a black tissue paper covering that read, "Happy Birthday," in gold calligraphy. Pushing the paper aside, he pulled out an item, a penis ring with a dildo looking concoction hanging off of it. It didn't take long for him to decipher its function; double penetration. The box contained various cuffs, gags, ropes, restraint systems. He pulled out butt plugs, anal beads, and other battery operated insertion toys. At the bottom of the box was a matte black photo album with a satin paisley pattern. "Dulci" was writing on the front in what looked to be the same gold calligraphy. He tentatively opened it, instantly regretting it when the first photo was a picture of Dulci's face mid-orgasm, the face he told himself that no one else would see. Flipping the pages, he was faced with pictures of her hog-tied, partially suspended, face down into the mattress, gagged, bound, and it made his blood boil. It was from Henry.

"Thank you, Dr. Harrison. I'll be in tomorrow," he heard Dulci approach the kitchen.

"So what's in the box?" She called out before she turned the corner to the kitchen.

Before Sidney had a chance to answer, Dulci walked toward him, stopping abruptly as her eyes caught light of the toys and restraints on the counter along with the photo album, opened to a picture of her in a compromising position. She looked at Sidney, only to find him looking anywhere but at her.


	32. Chapter 32

Her face was so crimson with mortification that she thought she may start sweating from the heat. To say she was blushing was an understatement. She quickly closed the album, tired of seeing the picture of her naked with runny mascara, unkempt, disheveled hair, arms tied together at the elbows in a kneel as she posed with Henry's penis shoved all the way in the back of her throat. Her present face was the color of her ass that had recently been spanked in excess in the photo.

Sidney shifted uncomfortably in the corner of her eye, his face equally as red, but by the flare in his nostrils and hard look on his face, Dulci knew it was anger, not discomfiture.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled weakly, finding it hard to look at him.

"You're sorry because you have something to be sorry for? Or because I had to see all of this shit?" He returned in a clipped tone, waving his hand over all of the toys and album.

"For seeing all of this. Had I known this is what it was, I wouldn't have told you to open it." Dulci quickly put the album back into the box along with the various toys and restraints, knowing that it would be easier to talk without iridescently colored anal beads and butt plugs on display before them. Why couldn't Henry have sent a birthday card, or nothing at all for that matter? What was his game, sending a box of used sex toys to her when she was in a relationship that didn't include that lifestyle apart from their night in Manhattan?

"So you would've rather opened it on your own? Hide the evidence?"

"That's not what I meant, Sid. Please don't be upset. This means nothing to me," she gestured toward the box, trying once again to reassure him that Henry was a distant memory, even if the remnants of him and their very erotic relationship was sitting on her counter in front of them.

"How can I not be upset when I see the intimate details of what my girlfriend and her ex used to do behind closed doors," he questioned harshly. Closing her eyes and swallowing hard, she willed herself not to cry. He wasn't being irrational. He had a good point. She wouldn't want to see Sidney and Carly sharing any intimate moments.

"Were they used?" He asked after some clipped hesitation. It felt as if all of her oxygen disappeared after falling off of the jungle gym at school. Why was he asking about it? She knew the package looked suspicious, but why did he want to torture her and himself by asking questions he knew she didn't want to answer. She looked at him, seeing that he was staring at a cock ring with a large dildo connection.

"Some of it," she responded truthfully and quietly as she slowly returned the toys to their box.

"This?" He asked holding up the dildo cock ring, pinching as little silicon as possible.

"No," she snatched it quickly from him, putting it in the box. She looked at him to read him. He looked disgusted, and her heart fell at his look.

"Did you know about the pictures?" He was gripping the edge of her island counter like it was the only thing keeping him standing. He kept his gaze away from Dulci's as if it the impending blow would be less painful or upsetting.

She weighed her options, nervously swiping her nonexistent fallen hair behind her ear. She could tell him she didn't and lie, or tell him she did and deal with the aftermath and possible judgment. They'd just discussed honesty only two days prior. She felt his solicitous gaze burning into her, and when she looked at him, he was looking at her expectantly.

"Yes," she whispered.

Sidney exhaled as if he'd been kicked in the stomach, as if her answer was an instant reversal to a sedative, smelling salt under the nose, instant sobriety. He paced back and forth, different scenarios going through his head. Henry had the audacity to send the pictures, and what if he had more copies? Who else would he send them to? And how irresponsible and naive was Dulci to let him take explicit pictures in extremely compromising positions? Unwelcome were the ideas about those photos being released on the Internet or to gossip magazines. He imagined his parents, extended family, and teammates, seeing the photos. What if his coaches and agent found them? How would he explain it away? What would it do to his reputation? He'd managed to keep his private life extremely private, but the pictures could compromise everything. More importantly, what would those photos do to Dulci's professional career? He could see sleaze balls coming in with their pets, making passes and comments about her. The thoughts only fueled his anger more.

"Say something," Dulci implored as she moved in front if him, reaching for his hand.

"I don't have anything to say," he said numbly and coolly, finally looking into her eyes again. "This is a lot to digest. I need to think," he muttered as he pulled his hand out of hers, walking around her toward the front door.

Dulci stood like a statue in her kitchen for what seemed like an hour, replaying the afternoon over and over in her mind before she sunk to the floor, leaning against the island cabinets. She'd never doubted or regretted her life style until that moment. He was judging her, just like she feared from the beginning and he didn't even know her deepest, darkest secret - the abortion and the reason for her decision to participate in BDSM other than the vague explanation she told him. She felt dirty all of a sudden, as if he found her undesirable because of the things she used to do. It shouldn't have been a shock considering he met her only wearing leather cuffs. Carly caught him looking up BDSM sex toys. He even bound her wrists with his belt and insinuated on doing it again before the ice skating incident.

Reaching into the counter for her phone, she dialed him number, growing more and more anxious with every unanswered ring. She ended the call when his voicemail answered, pulling her legs up, letting her head fall to her bent knees as she hugged them and cried.

* * *

><p>Sidney sat in Marc's driveway, aimlessly and vacantly staring ahead at his friend's house as he recounted the events of the last hour. He was going to drive to his house, but decided he needed someone to talk to, needed some sort of normalcy after being faced with the toys, the restraints, the album. Of course, when he arrived, both Marc and Vero's cars were gone, and Sidney didn't have the mental or physical capacity to put his car in reverse to drive away.<p>

What was she thinking letting someone take her picture like that? It was so mind-boggling and maddening that Dulci could be so mindless and compulsive while also being incredibly intelligent and sensible. She didn't even seem to care that those pictures had resurfaced, or that he was simmering with rage when he saw them. He thought about why she let him take the pictures. Were they supposed to be utilized as a pleasure device along side of the toys? Were they for Henry's pleasure to use when they weren't together, and if that was the case, was he still using them? Did Henry think Dulci would use them?

Pulling out his phone, he saw the notification that Dulci had called but didn't leave a message. His thumb hovered over the call button as he wanted to call her, but he needed some time to process everything, mostly his immense jealousy over Dulci's past relationship with Henry and his own feelings of inadequacy. She'd reassured him numerous times what Henry meant nothing, even while in their strange relationship, but he always seemed to creep unwelcomed into theirs.

Clearing the notification, he opened the Internet browser, typed in "Dulci Hammett," and pressed search, holding his breath as he waiting for the images to load. He prayed that there wouldn't be any incriminating photos of her from that album. He quickly scanned the tiny thumbnails, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief when nothing of Dulci appeared except the professional photograph taken for the animal hospital's website. Her innocent, passionate, professional look made him smile. She was wearing her white doctor's coat with a mauve colored shirt underneath. She was cradling one of her textbooks in her arms, looking very smart. It was one of the first things he found very attractive about her when they met for the second time. She, like him, was lucky enough to find something she was exceptionally good at, something that she had an unfaltering passion for.

It occurred to him that he'd never actually looked at the hospital's website, and on a whim, he tapped on the photo, letting the hospital website load. Underneath the website photo was a small bio:

Dulci Hammett, DVM

Dr. Hammett joined our team in 2012 after obtaining a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. She attending undergrad at Virginia Tech and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2008. Not a native of the Pittsburgh area, she moved here shortly after graduating and decided to call Pittsburgh her home.

Dr. Hammett is an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA), and is USDA accredited.

While she enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine, Dr. Hammett takes a special professional interest in oncology, internal medicine, geriatric medicine, orthopedic surgery, and rehabilitation, making her an invaluable asset to our team. She does not shy away from a difficult case. One of Dr. Hammett's long-term goals is to open an orthopedic rehabilitation facility in the area.

In her free time, you can find Dr. Hammett reading various genres of books, cultivating her cooking skills, jogging and exploring, and spending time with her cat Meatball.

"And posing in compromising positions while participating in deviously kinky sex," Sidney sighed, vocally adding to her bio as he looked at her picture. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone walking up to his window from behind his car, and when he looked, he found Vero and Estelle waving at him from outside.

"No Dulci?" Vero asked as Sidney opened the door to climb out. Sidney barely shut the door before Estelle was reaching out for him through Vero's arms.

"No Dulci," he responded sadly as he swung Estelle around in his arms, happy that her tiny giggles pulled him out of his sour, gloomy mood.

"Everything alright?" Vero asked, picking up on his melancholy tone.

"Yeah, but it's complicated." She could tell by look that he didn't want to discuss his and Dulci's issues in front of Estelle or outside. "Come inside. Marc should be home soon."

"Make yourself at home, Sid," Vero shouted from a different room as Sidney scouted the refrigerator for something to drink, hopefully of the alcoholic variety. Taking his jacket off, he settled onto the couch, wondering if Vero could give him some advice. Could he tell Vero about Dulci's past preferences? Would that be a breach in trust? Would Vero judge Dulci if he told her? His thoughts were interrupted as Vero sat down next to him, Estelle in her arms as she turned on some children's show that he didn't recognize.

"I hope you don't mind," she said as she pointed at the television.

"Not at all," he smiled politely, taking a swig of beer that he decided on from the refrigerator.

"Alright. What's going on?" Vero probed. Sidney hesitated, looking at Estelle with a look that told Vero he didn't want to talk about it in front of her young daughter. "She won't understand anything you're saying."

With a large intake of breath, Sidney thought about how to condense and summarize everything in a way that wouldn't tell Vero about Dulci's past. As he began to talk, stopping and starting several times, he realized that the fundamental problem wasn't the pictures or the toys, it was the paralyzing, unfounded idea that he couldn't please her sexually like Henry could, that she would want what Henry gave her more than what he could give her, that if he tried to do what she liked, that he would be mediocre at best.

"Dulci's last relationship was unconventional," he started, not sure how he would follow up.

"How so?"

"She likes to do unusual things," he fumbled as he tried to find a way to be cryptic while explaining in enough detail to get the point across.

"I'm not really following," she smiled confusedly.

"She's into BDSM," he resigned, rubbing his cheek as a distraction and a way to hide the embarrassment evident on his face. He waited for the surprise of his admission to resonate around the room as Vero registered what he said, but all he could hear were the sounds of Estelle playing with a doll and the children's TV show.

"And?" Vero asked, her voice inquiring as if encouraging him to continue. He was taken aback by her lack of reaction.

"And it's not something I'm familiar with."

"Does she give or receive?" Vero investigated, still not at all surprised.

"Receives."

"So, you're feeling inadequate because you're not familiar?" Vero asked as she put Estelle on the floor with her doll. It made Sidney redden with mortification that his teammate's wife was getting to know the intimate part of his relationship with Dulci, and the problem he was having, and it made him feel like he was impotent.

"For the lack of better words, yes."

"Does Dulci make you feel inadequate, or is it an idea in your head that's making you feel inadequate?"

"The latter," he muttered, half of him regretting starting the conversation. He feared that Vero would tell Marc about what they discussed, and if she did, he knew he's get teased relentlessly for it.

"What's making you think you're not good enough?"

"Her ex-boyfriend or whatever he was sent her a package of BDSM toys, restraints, and an album of pictures he'd taken of her in the act. I've never seen some of that stuff in my life."

"Are you afraid she'll ask you to indulge in that lifestyle, or are you nervous that you won't be good enough?" Sidney looked at Vero in awe. She knew him and understood his competitiveness, his need to be the best at everything. "You don't have to answer. If you don't want to do it, then don't. If she cared about you, then she shouldn't make you do something you don't want to."

"That's the thing, she's never asked for it except for one time," he remembered.

"And was it something you'd do again, assuming you did it?"

"Yes," he smiled, remembering how erotic and sexy that night was.

"Did she enjoy it?"

"Yes."

"Then stop overthinking everything. If she thought you were inadequate or only wanted to be in that kind of relationship, she would've dumped you by now."

Thankfully, his phone started vibrating in his pocket, allowing him to focus on something else. It was Dulci, calling for what looked like the second time, but before he excuse himself to answer it, the call ended.

"I was a jerk," he admitted as he looked at Dulci's name under his missed calls. "She told me to open the box while she went to the bathroom, thinking it was from one of her English family members, and I lost it when I opened it. I was accusatory and it wasn't her fault. She didn't know. I guess I never expected to see an album full of orgasm pictures that she knew about or two dozen brightly colored toys, some of which were used according to her."

"Sidney, maybe you should talk to her about this. I'm sure she'd understand your reservations."

"I'm angry that she knew about the pictures. I can't wrap my head around it. Did she even think about how this could come back to haunt her? Or me?"

"I'm sure it was done in the moment. She probably didn't think even remember them, and she probably never considered the possibility of dating her best friend's boyfriend and face of the NHL."

"And what's worse is that had I not been so infuriated by the whole package, I probably would've enjoyed those pictures."

His phone vibrated in his hand, signifying a text message. It was from Dulci.

*Please let me know that you're ok.

"She obviously cares about you," Vero smiled as she stood from the couch, scooping her sleeping daughter into her arms. "Go to her and talk to her."

As they walked toward the front door, Sidney said goodbye to Vero and Estelle, who was grumpy from being awoken from her catnap. Sidney tickled her neck playfully, causing Estelle to giggle in spite of her moodiness.

"Thank you for the chat."

"Anytime," she smiled warmly. "And after of this is all said and done," she started, putting her hand over Estelle's exposed ear, "maybe you two can make your own private album," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, making Sidney shake his head his head and snort out a laugh as he waved and walked to his car. It wasn't a bad idea.

* * *

><p>Dulci was startled awake as she felt two arms picking her up. While she knew it was Sidney, probably carrying her to bed so she didn't spend the entire night sleeping on her couch, she wasn't expecting him to return. He hadn't returned her calls or text message. She was in such a haze from the narcotics she took after she over extended her weakened and underused muscles taking the box to the trash outside. She nuzzled into his neck, hoping he was there to stay for the night and not just to put her to bed. He gently set her on her feet once they arrived in her bedroom. She wasn't sure if she should say anything, so she stood in silence, watching him as he shrugged his jacket off. He moved toward her, pulling at the Velcro of her sling as he slowly and carefully pulled it from her arm and over her head. He pulled at the hem of her shirt next, pulling it over her head, leaving her top half in just a bra. He reached around to unsnap it, pulling the straps off of her shoulders. Dulci felt exposed, and not in a good way. She recalled the picture of her wearing nipple clamps, and worried that that image would sully the way Sidney saw her. She didn't want him to see her through Henry's pictures. She feared that he would forever see her as <em>that<em> girl. Never taking his eyes away from hers, he pulled a sleeveless shirt over her head and arms. She was ready to tell him she could dress herself when he spoke.

"This is one thing I have with you that he didn't." His voice was quiet, and it killed her that Sidney always compared himself to Henry.

"There are plenty of things you have with me that he didn't," she responded.

"Like what?"

"He's never made love to me. He's never sent me flowers when I was upset. He's never held my hand. He's never taken me to Canada," she smiled, trying to lighten the heavy mood in the room. She relaxed a little when he gave her a small smile. "He's never paid for me to go to a veterinary conference, which I will pay you back for. He's never cared about what I didn't for a living. He's never invited me to his house. He's never introduced me to anyone in his family. He's never asked me about anything other than sex. He's never wanted me for anything other than sex. He never made me feel beautiful or cherished. He didn't love me," she told him, imploring him to tell her he loved her still, that the pictures and toys didn't fuck everything up.

"I know this is unrealistic, but I hate that he made you look the same way that I do. I want to be the only person to see you like that, ever."

"You're the only person I want to see me like that, ever."

He kissed her sweetly as an answer to her unasked question as to whether he loved her still, and as a display of his appreciation for their small, but monumental admissions before repeating the entire process on her lower half, taking her jeans off and replacing them with pajama pants, walking her over to the bed. He undressed himself and climbed into bed next to her, settling in behind her as they laid down to sleep.


	33. Chapter 33

"Good evening, Mrs. Elliot. This is Dr. Hammett from the animal hospital… I'm doing well, how are you?... I'm looking over the medical history that Dr. Mroz left while I was away last week and I wanted to discuss his findings with you."

It was going to be a heartbreaking phone call. The Elliot's were one of Dulci's first clients out of veterinary school. They were an adorable elderly couple with an adorable small Yorkshire, Poodle mix to match. They were what Dulci imagined for herself and her future husband, a couple very much in love after years and years together. Their dog Daisy was her first sick patient with a large splenic mass in her abdomen. Daisy was Dulci's first surgical procedure outside of the routine spays and neuters she did in school. The splenectomy went considerably well and the biopsy came back as a splenic hematoma, the best outcome as far as abdominal masses are concerned. This time, however, Daisy had a large mass in her mouth, hampering her ability to eat. Dr. Mroz had explained to the Elliot's in detail what the options were, but oral masses were never good and usually very aggressive and malignant.

"Based on the location of the mass on Daisy's gums, I would suspect it was one of three things: a melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or a fibrosarcoma. Unfortunately without doing a biopsy, we wouldn't know for sure… Well, because of the location, I would need to sedate her to do a biopsy, but if she's going under anesthesia, I would like to remove the mass all together. If it is one of the three masses I suspect, and it may not be, surgical removal is necessary because of the aggressiveness and malignancy of the tumors… Depending on the biopsy results, we can discuss the possibility of chemo and radiation at that time if applicable."

Dulci was thankful that she was the only one in the office at the time as she swallowed to keep herself from tearing up at the sound of Mrs. Elliot crying quietly into the receiver, and she knew the inevitable quality of life question would arise for an older dog with a high likelihood of having cancer.

"Well, the anorexia does concern me, especially for a smaller, older dog. I suspect that if the mass is removed, it would greatly improve her ability to eat on her own, but we won't know for sure until after the removal if you take that route. Otherwise, I'd like to take some radiographs and blood work to see what she's looking like organically and systemically. If you think her quality of life if poor, than humane euthanasia would be in her best interest… Why don't you bring her in for me to see tomorrow and we'll discuss this in greater detail. You don't have to make any decision yet," Dulci smiled sympathetically into the phone in a soothing, supportive manner.

Hanging up the phone, she rubbed her right shoulder with applied pressure, realizing that she pushed herself too hard on her first day back to work with a broken arm. Even with the sling, she didn't realize how physical her job was until she was limited on what she could do. Looking at her cellphone for the first time in six hours, she instantly frowned when she noticed the text message from Sidney that he wouldn't be able to see her that evening. He had something to do with the team and wouldn't be finished until very late in the evening. Sighing, Dulci threw her phone into her bag, reacting to the unwelcomed thought that Sidney was avoiding her. It had been a week since the goody box incident and he seemed to be evading all of Dulci's attempts to spend time together.

"Dr. Hammett, you're last appointment is here."

"I'll be right up," Dulci responded without looking up. Writing the gist of her phone call with the Elliot's down with almost illegible handwriting, she closed the medical chart and walked toward the exam rooms.

* * *

><p>"Which one?" Dulci asked as she held up two different colored red lipsticks, both rolled out of the bullet.<p>

"What's the occasion?" Carly asked as she scanned the perfume counter near by.

Dulci raised an eyebrow at her, insinuating that Carly knew exactly the occasion and why she was planning on wearing it.

"Oh, for your birthday?" She smiled conspiratorially.

"That and afterward," Dulci blushed as she swatched the two lip sticks against her skin, embarrassed to discuss the intimate details of her and Sidney's relationship with someone already intimately familiar with him.

"Is Sid taking you somewhere special?"

"He mentioned taking me to some French restaurant," Dulci smiled.

"What look are you going for exactly?" Carly asked as she gave Dulci her undivided attention.

"Umm. I was hoping for sultry, sexy, insatiable, irresistible. Something that shouts 'you have no choice but to have sex with me because you haven't in over a week' with a hint of 'it'll be worth your while' mixed in."

Carly gawked at Dulci, wide eyed and opened mouth, and for a moment, Dulci thought she may have over spoken.

"It's been over a week?" Carly asked with the same astonished, appalled look.

"Yes."

"Why? Is it your arm?"

Dulci shrugged. He'd repeatedly told her he wouldn't touch her until she had the cast off, but given his change in behavior lately, she assumed it was something else, and the idea left a horrible taste in her mouth. She feared the he didn't look at her the same. Maybe he found her slightly repulsive now and didn't have the heart to tell her. She tried to banish the thoughts, but wasn't successful until Carly interrupted her, and Dulci was thankful Carly didn't pry further.

"It is a pretty busy time in the season for them. That and he's probably afraid he'll hurt you more if you know what I mean," Carly raised her eyebrow suggestively. "I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but there were runs where he didn't touch me because of his god damned superstitions," Carly rolled her eyes as she spritzed some high end perfume on her wrist.

"You're probably right," Dulci surrendered as she focused her attention back on her lipstick swatches.

"With your hair color and skin tone, I'd go with the blue undertone. It'll work well with your blue eyes," Carly took one of the testers and put it back onto the display while picking up the blue undertoned red lipstick. "This is a good brand, too," Carly mused as she threw the small rectangular box into her shopping basket. "I'm buying. Happy birthday."

"How long are you in town for," Dulci asked absentmindedly as she looked at different skin care products lined up neatly and colorfully, catching her eye.

"Only a couple of days, then I'm flying back to England for a meeting about a new store opening," Carly rambled as she gave her credit card to the sales associate.

Dulci frowned knowing Carly wouldn't be available on her birthday. While they hadn't seen one another for a couple of months, Dulci missed her friend and had a hunch that she'd need her soon if her hunch about Sidney was right.

"Where are we going?" Dulci asked as they walked toward a very expensive luxury lingerie store.

"You need something sexy and provocative to go with that lipstick," Carly smiled.

One look at the $180.00 price tag for a garter belt and Dulci knew she was in the wrong place. The pieces were gorgeous, something she'd wish she could afford to wear for Sidney but it was too expensive and she couldn't rationalize putting lingerie on a credit card, especially if she was only wearing it for a couple of minutes.

"Carly, I can't afford any of this. Can't we just go to Victoria's Secret or something?" Dulci whispered as she looked around, hoping the sales associates weren't listening. Carly gave her a disgusted look and shook her head, ending the possibility that they'd go anywhere else to shop for intimates.

"What do you like?"

"Umm… I kind of like this," Dulci pointed to a black lacy piece.

"What's your cup size?" Carly asked as she shuffled through the various hangers.

"36A to a 34B depending on the make."

Without a second's notice, Carly was dragging Dulci toward the fitting rooms, shoving her into a sensually lit room and closing the door behind her. Nervously, Dulci shed herself of all of her clothes and squeezed herself into the lingerie, chewing on her lip as she appraised herself in the mirror. Could she actually wear something like this and seduce him? Carly definitely could, and Dulci surmised that was the reason they were there. She probably paraded around him in something similar to this on many occasions, and the thought made her roll her eyes.

"Hope you're decent because I'm coming in."

Dulci froze in full-blown panic. Why the hell would Carly think she was decent when the only body parts covered at the moment were her nipples and vagina? Instinctively, she covered as much of her genitals a possible as the fitting room door opened. She turned herself toward the corner to hide.

"Carly! What are you doing?"

"Oh for Christ's sake, Dulci. Its just nipples and I have a set of my own. I want to see how it looks and give you my honest opinion."

Slowly, she turned, closing her eyes so she didn't have to look at Carly to see her reaction. The longer it took for Carly to speak, the more nervous she grew, fidgeting as she tried to recover her parts.

"Its nice, but its missing something," Carly responded as she tapped her lip, looking Dulci up and down trying to figure the missing piece out.

"Wait. I know exactly what you need," Carly smiled and quickly exited the fitting room, only to return after a moment later with something that looked frilly with too many straps.

"Seriously?" Dulci asked in mock horror.

"Try it on," Carly huffed.

To Dulci's surprise, she actually liked it.

* * *

><p>"God damn it. I can't see that appointment." Dulci was finishing her chart, pushing through the pain of writing fast. Sidney would be at her house in less than an hour and a half and she still needed to get ready.<p>

"Where's Dr. King?" Alyssa asked.

"I'm not sure, but I have to go," Dulci said apologetically. Scooping up her things, she headed to the bathroom, opening the door to find Megan King sitting on the closed toilet, staring at a pregnancy test. When she saw Dulci, she quickly put the stick in her pocket and wiped her cheeks.

"I'm sorry.. " Dulci said as she closed the bathroom door, giving Megan the space she needed.

"Dulci?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't tell anyone. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet," Megan said as she pointed toward her pocket.

"Your secret is safe," Dulci smiled supportively, fully understanding the situation. "Are you going to tell your husband?" She wasn't sure if Megan would answer. Instead, Megan started crying again, and as much as Dulci wanted to leave, she put down her bag and pulled Megan into a hug. Maybe the baby would be Dr. Harrison's, and that's why she was shaking with sobs as Dulci hugged her.

"This isn't my place to say, and I have no idea what's going on in your life, but just remember that you have options." Dulci pulled Megan away and looked at her, assessing her face for any sort of clue.

"You saw us in New York," Megan whispered numbly. Dulci nodded a response.

"I can't tell my husband because I'm not sure who it belongs to, although I have an idea."

Searching her mind for something to say and coming up empty, Dulci shrugged because she didn't know what to say. She looked at her watch to see she'd spent more time than she wanted in the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Dulci. I'm sure you wanted to leave a while ago."

"I need to get home. If you need someone to talk to, you can call me anytime." Smiling supportively, Dulci hoped Megan would pick up on the silver lining of her words, and with a nod, Dulci knew that she did.

"I have to go."

* * *

><p>Pulling the lip liner across her lips, she prayed that she didn't go outside of her lip line with her left, less dominant hand, especially because she couldn't stop herself from singing along to the quiet music playing from her phone. Taking the lip brush Carly let her borrow, she pulled it across the bullet and onto her lips to fill in the empty spots, going just as slowly not to destroy what she'd already done to her face.<p>

She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a loud thud in her bedroom, thinking Meatball knocked something over, but when she looked into her room from the mirror to check, she locked eyes with Sidney, who stood planted in the middle of her room, gear bag slumped over next to him, looking a little stunned. She hadn't realized it initially, but she was slightly bent over the bathroom vanity, undoubtedly accentuating her butt and showing off her breasts.

Putting the lip brush down, she turned around to face him, effectively putting herself on display as he slowly walked into the bathroom.

She couldn't read his face or reaction. He looked so impassive, and at first she thought the lingerie was a mistake. Maybe her inkling about Carly parading around his humongous house in next to nothing was right, and maybe it turned him off. Maybe the French maid outfit would've been better option. She couldn't fret for long as he abruptly pulled her to him, kissing her hard, hands snaking into her hair and around her waste to her bare ass. For a moment, Dulci wanted to pull away because the lipstick would've been all over his face and hers with the intensity of the kiss, but the idea made her melt from the inside out.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Sidney asked, voice husky and breathy.

"I'm just trying to get your attention."

When Dulci opened her eyes, her thought was confirmed. She was faced with a half grin covered in red lipstick that rimmed the perimeter of his mouth.

"Well, you've got my attention," he murmured against her lips as he kissed her again, cradling her head in his hand as his other hand traveled the entirety of her torso, touching everything. It had been so long since they shared any kind of intimate moment that it became a battle, hands and lips everywhere, both trying to be the first to pleasure the other. Dulci hardly noticed that they had moved out of the bathroom, only when her back hit the dresser outside of the door as he pressed her against it, kissing her lips, chin, neck, and clavicle, trying to claw his way into her expensive bra.

Dropping to her knees to kneel in front of him, she quickly unbuttoned his pants, yanking the hem of his pants and his boxers to his ankles.

"Fuck," he whispered as he watched her, taking hold of the tall dresser for support as she slowly and sensually jerked him off, watching herself work, licking the tip of his penis every so often. Throwing his head back, he let himself get lost in the sensation, listening to her breathing and soft moans as she pleasured him with her hands and tongue. Feeling an entirely different sensation, he looked down to find her gripping the base of his penis and testicles in one hand. She took his entire length into her mouth, licking his testicles simultaneously. It felt like nothing he'd felt before and it made his knees weak. Letting go, Dulci reached behind her back to unsnap her bra, and hitting him like a train, the unpleasant thought of the photo album struck, specifically the picture of Dulci doing down on Henry with her hands bound behind her. He could feel himself losing his erection in her mouth, and her efforts to bring it back were futile.

"I can't do this," he muttered, stepping away from her to pull up his boxers. "I keep seeing that fucking book." Dulci watched in horror as he separated himself from her, sitting on her bed a small distance away, but it felt like a mile.

"Please don't over think it," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself. Standing, she walked over to the bathroom to grab something to cover up. She'd never felt so naked, so vulnerable and unattractive in her life. "I don't want him. I haven't wanted him for months. Please stop comparing yourself to him or what we have to what I had with him. Its not the same!" she shouted. "Why are you doing this?" she choked, covering her mouth as if it would stop the impending cry.

"Dulci," he reached for her.

"No! Not until you tell me what is wrong."

Running his hands through his hair, he blurted it out faster than he had time to think about it.

"You feel inadequate?" she said incredulously, gawking at him as if he made absolutely no sense.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No," he said in embarrassment. "Please stop laughing."

She didn't realize she was laughing until he asked her to stop. But it was unbelievable. He did things to her and made her feel things than were foreign with all of her other partners.

"Well you like toys and I don't use them."

"You don't need to use toys, Sid. You're more than well equipped with what you have and what you can do. He used toys because he occasionally had difficulty getting me there. Have you ever had trouble? If I remember correctly, I've never been left wanting or needing from you…" Dulci watched as he stood from her bed and slowly walked toward her. "You're the only person that has ever given me multiple orgasms," she said before he kissed her, hearing the validation he needed.

"Keep going," he murmured against her chin as he kissed her. At first she didn't understand, but then she realized he wanted her to keep talking about his sexual prowess.

"You're lips make me tremble all over, and your fingers do heavenly things to me," she moaned as he nipped at the junction between her neck and shoulder, making her grasp him tighter, and she could feel him grin against her skin.

"What do my fingers and mouth do to you?" he asked as he brushed his fingertips over her breasts, catching her nipples in the caress.

"They make me breathless and…" she took a large breath as his fingers pulled on one of her nipples.

"Speechless?" he finished as he knelt down to trail his mouth to her other breast, pulling the fabric of the bra down. She made a sound that resembled both a sign and moan, confirming his question. Picking her up, he carried her to her bed, trailing kisses and nips down her stomach. Simultaneously, he pushed her legs apart to the point where her knees were touching the mattress. Through the very see through underwear, he first licked, then rubbed her very engorged clitoris with his nose, groaning quietly when he could feel her legs start to tremble underneath his hands. While he teased her, he put her legs back together and ever so slowly peeled her barely-there underwear down her legs, thankful that the underwear was over the garter belt and thigh highs. Standing up in front of her, he quickly removed his shirt, ripping it over his head while he watched Dulci's hands replace the area where his mouth had previously been. Lazily, she rubbed circles around her clitoris while her other, recently broken, hand played with her nipple. It was so erotic to see her touch herself, and he stopped breathing every time she dipped her pointer and middle fingers into her vagina. His eye stayed locked on her fingers as he lowered his pants, and before he even realized it, he had his penis in his hand, stroking slowly to match Dulci's rhythm. He realized that this particular moment would've been foreign to Henry, to see Dulci pleasuring herself in his presence, waiting for him, wanting him, silently begging him. All of the photos contained some sort of restraint or bondage, a way for Dulci to have little to no function with her hands. She also had pink stain all over her face from the red lipstick she was delicately applying when he came in. But most of all, the look of love, longing, compassion, and affection were completely absent on the photos. They were in the throes of true intimacy. This was Dulci, his intelligent, bright, strong, exuberant, beautiful girlfriend, not Dulci, Henry's sex toy. The thought alone was enough to make him come everywhere.

Moving back in front of the bed, he resumed his position, opening her legs as he continued to watch her pleasure herself.

"Spread it open," he commanded in a sensual tone. Initially he thought maybe it was too much given the alarmed look on Dulci's face, but after a beat, she took her pointer and middle fingers and opened herself completely to him.

"Watch." He didn't give her much time to respond before he used his tongue to consume her, switching back and forth between licks, flicks, and hard sucks, moving his head in a particular pattern just the way she liked it. When he looked up to see her, she had her eyes closed, vocalizing a string of garbled words and sounds that were indistinguishable apart from his name.

"Open," he murmured against her clitoris before taking it in his mouth to suck hard.

A long, breathy moan escaped her lips as she threw her head back, the vibration in his voice adding to the sensation. When she snaked her hand into his hair, raising her pelvis into his lips, he knew she was on the brink of orgasm. Inserting two fingers, he almost came apart at how swollen her g-spot felt, and with a couple of caresses, she was detonating against his mouth.

He trailer his mouth up her body as she continued to tremor after climax, her right arm limp by her side while her left clung to his shoulder, digging her nails in as he took one of her nipples between his teeth.

"Please fuck me," she breathed as he continued to her other nipple, rotating between sucking and biting. Her wish was his command, and kissing her hard, he slowly lowered himself into her as far as he could go. As she planted her head into the mattress, he took the opportunity to explore all the skin visible on her body with his mouth and free hand, her neck, shoulders, clavicle, décolletage. He wanted to show her how much he loved and cherished her, how much she meant to him. Taking hold of her left hand, he brought it to his mouth and kissed each and every knuckle, still slowly rocking in and out of her. He eventually found purchase on her mouth, kissing her softly and sensuously, sweeping his tongue into her mouth in tempo with his hips, trying his hardest not to explode as her soft moans mingled with his groans. Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead against hers, putting all if his energy into not coming. All of the tell tale signs were present, pressing her thighs tightly around his waist, tightening her grip on his hand, the erratic breathing, the flush the crept all over her body in splotches, the tightening below, and the face of ecstasy.

"Sid, I'm coming," she whispered before rearing her head back, groaning loudly into the room.

"Fuck," he grunted as he came, dropping his head onto her shoulder, scooping her body to his as much as possible while he treasured the moment.

They stayed in the position, collecting themselves before trying to move. Sidney could've stayed in that position for the rest of the night, repeatedly expressing his love for her, but Dulci's dinner reservation was in less than an hour.

Raising his head, supporting himself on one arm, he looked at dulci, who had a sated, yet amused look on her face.

"What?" He asked as he leaned down to kiss her.

"You have lipstick all over your face," she smiled as she tried to wipe it off with her thumb.

"So do you."

* * *

><p>Walking into the restaurant, Dulci looked around in bewilderment. It was 8:30 pm on a Saturday night, but the restaurant was completely empty apart from a couple of what looked to be waitresses. Something wasn't right. The parking lot was packed and they had a difficult time finding a parking spot. While she'd never been to this particular restaurant, the tables were set up to line the perimeter of the large dining area as if they were booths.<p>

"This is odd," she pointed to the room before looking at Sid. Giving her a small smile and a hand squeeze, he looked forward, waiting anxiously as he subtly chewed on his bottom lip.

"Is everything ok?" Dulci asked, feeding off of his anxiety.

Before he could answer, a woman entered through the doorway of the large dining area to the hostess podium.

"Good evening."

"Hi. We have an 8:30 reservation under Crosby."

"Yes, Mr. Crosby. Please follow me," the hostess smiled as she ushered the two into the dining room.

Dulci was puzzled. The hostess didn't bring menus, and from her quick glance into the room earlier, there weren't menus at the table, either. Taking another look at Sid, she noticed his quiet, long exhale, and she couldn't figure out why he was so nervous.

All at once, dozens of people came from every direction, out of hallways, under tables, from behind the large partition that separated the waiting area from the dining area. The sound was deafening as people shouted, "Surprise!" and "Happy Birthday!" simultaneously to the point where Dulci almost jumped out of her skin. She gripped onto Sidney out of instinct, and he pulled her into a suffocating hug, kissing her cheek while whispering, "Happy birthday," as all of the guests surrounded them.

Dulci couldn't believe the amount of people that had been invited. Her immediate family, her English relatives, her coworkers, a select few friends from college were present. Sidney's family was there, including a few of his extended family. His teammates were there with their significant others. Lastly, Carly appeared in the crowd, slowly making her to her best friend.

"Happy birthday!" Carly gushed as she pulled Dulci into an equally suffocating hug.

"Did you do this?" Dulci pointed around the room, which was now dimmed with faint music playing in the background as waitresses carried trays of champagne.

"I wasn't the only one," she smiled and glanced at Sid, who gave Dulci a shy smile.

"You knew about this and hid it from me?" Dulci beamed as Sidney shrugged.

"I couldn't tell you that he'd been distant because we've been planning this for the past couple of days that haven't conflicted with his schedule. Some things never change," Carly said sarcastically as she took three glasses of champagne from a passing waitress, handing one to Dulci and Sid respectively, excusing herself to mingle.

"I can't believe this," Dulci smiled, looking back at Sidney.

Her smile was one of admiration and graditude, and he couldn't help but kiss her sweetly and passionately.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips as Dulci's parents bombarded their quiet sentiment.

Time had flown by as the party got going. People were dancing, singing, drinking, laughing. It was everything he'd envisioned for Dulci when Carly originally called with the idea. He watched as Dulci and Vero talked animatedly across the room, and he hoped it wasn't about his admission a week before. He was so enamored at Dulci's sight that he hadn't realized someone was standing next to him.

"What happened to her arm?" the man asked with a barely detectable Irish accent.

"She broke her humerous ice skating two weeks ago. The cast came off this morning," Sidney responded as he mentally wondered who he was talking to.

"She's pretty clumsy. She broke her nose a couple of months ago when she tripped over her own feet," the man chuckled, and it made all of the hairs on Sidney's neck stand at attention. "I thought maybe she injured herself doing other recreational things," he looked Sidney straight in the eye, as if to challenge him with a snarky smile.

"Who are you?" Sidney inquired.

"I'm Henry."


End file.
